Blog For Arizona

Happy Halloween from BlogForArizona!

Posted by Michael Bryan

Thanks for sending this to me, Allan!

I am not voting Republican on November 2nd... I REMEMBER!

Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

A Remarkable Event

by Mohur Sidhwa

[Note: Mohur sent this to me days ago, and I kind of lost it in the ether. My apologies. However, though the event she describes, Jorge Luis Garcia's funeral, happened a little while ago, her observations remain fresh. David]

I had expected the local media to cover one of the more remarkable events Tucson has witnessed in a long time. It did not. So here is an account of the closest thing to a state funeral I have attended.

Last Friday saw the funeral at Saints Peter and Paul Parish for Senate Minority Leader, Jorge Luis Garcia. He died in office. He was 57.

I got there early. I noted current and former office holders milling around and greeting each other as new arrivals entered. We all seemed to know each other to one degree or another. Among early arrivals were current and former LD-26 legislators Toni Hellon, Pete Hershberger, Nancy Young Wright and Charlene Pesquiera, and county recorder F. Ann Rodriquez.

Then suddenly the double doors opened and I saw a procession of people enter. They all looked familiar though a bit out of context. Took me a moment to realize that almost the whole legislature from Phoenix had bussed in. Both sides of the aisle. Most of the statewide leadership included. I also noted a number among them I did not recognize. I was informed they were the legislative staffers. Current and former staffers had trickled in from other counties.

The service began. Wet cheeks and quivering jaws. There was little to distinguish many members from the two sides of the aisle at that moment. They were allowing their humanity to show.

Governor Brewer sat up front, Congressman Grijalva slipped in quietly and sat at the back.

From the arrival of the coffin to the music of the Mariachis, to a service that was simple, it was a remarkable event. There was no motorcade. The reception afterwards too was simple. The whole reflected the quiet and effective dignity of the man.

After the service I again noticed the former legislators greeting other each other. Some current legislators were hugging former legislators from the other side of the aisle. They were conversing and catching up.

Upon reflection over the past few days, what struck me was the genuine affection that was shown by former legislators from both sides of the aisle to each other. In spite of their obvious differences and heated battles, their loyalty to Arizona did frequently manage to sneak over their loyalty to their own careers or party. They were leaders.

Jorge Luis Garcia was perhaps one of the most effective legislators. His quiet good judgment and willingness to share his time with the least among us will be missed.

DNC ad: "Don't sit this one out"

Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

The Democratic National Committee is up with its closing argument ad leveraging President Obama to drive out the vote.

A time-honored American tradition

Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

Apparently the history of American journalism is no longer taught in journalism school. Go figure.

In 1733, Benjamin Franklin began to publish the famous Poor Richard's Almanack (with content both original and borrowed) under the pseudonym Richard Saunders, on which much of his popular reputation is based. Franklin frequently wrote under pseudonyms. Although it was no secret that Franklin was the author, his Richard Saunders character repeatedly denied it.

During the eighteenth century, it was common for writers and journalists to use pseudonyms, or false names, when they created newspaper articles and letters to the editor. Franklin used this convention extensively throughout his life, sometimes to express an idea that might have been considered slanderous or even illegal by the authorities; other times to present two sides of an issue, much like the point-counterpoint style of journalism used today. Benjamin Franklin . Wit and Wisdom . Name that Ben | PBS:

When Franklin used a pseudonym, he often created an entire persona for the "writer." Sometimes he wrote as a woman, other times as a man, but always with a specific point of view. While all of his writings were focused and logical, many were also humorous, filled with wit and irony. Silence Dogood, Harry Meanwell, Alice Addertongue, Richard Saunders, and Timothy Turnstone were a few of the many pseudonyms Franklin used throughout his career.

The Federalist Papers contain eighty-five essays that were published anonymously by Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay under the name of “Publius.” The essays flooded the New York newspapers between October 27, 1787 and May 1788. The essays were published in book form as The Federalist Papers in May 1788, and included seventy-eight published essays along with seven new essays. The Federalist Papers Criticism:

The authors of The Federalist Papers linked the essays to classical traditions through their pseudonym—the name “Publius” refers to the founder of the Roman republic. The pseudonym served several purposes. In addition to placing the essays squarely in a classical tradition—a contrast to the bombastic letters that had appeared earlier—it placed the focus on the arguments rather than the specific writers. In addition, many later scholars have argued that the figure of Publius pulled the distinct ideas of Hamilton, Madison, and Jay into a coherent voice greater than the sum of its parts.

The series of anti-federalist writing which most nearly paralleled and confronted The Federalist was a series of sixteen essays published in the New York Journal from October, 1787, through April, 1788, during the same period The Federalist was appearing in New York newspapers, under the pseudonym "Brutus", in honor of the Roman republican who was one of those who assassinated Julius Caesar, to prevent him from overthrowing the Roman Republic. Anti-Federalist Papers: "Brutus":

The essays were widely reprinted and commented on throughout the American states. The author is thought by most scholars to have been Robert Yates, a New York judge, delegate to the Federal Convention, and political ally of anti-federalist New York Governor George Clinton. All of the essays were addressed to "the Citizens of the State of New York".

During the debates over the design and ratification of the United States Constitution, in 1787 and 1788, a large number of writers in the popular press used pseudonyms. This list shows some of the more important identities and the probable real authors (where known); question marks indicates attributions that should be regarded with greater caution and skepticism. List of pseudonyms used in the American constitutional debates - Wikipedia.

Writing under pseudonyms or "pen names" is a fine and time-honored tradition; many of the greatest names in literature were "invented," and many of today's bestselling authors use pseudonyms as well. One famous example of this is Samuel Clemens' writing under the pen name Mark Twain.

I think we stand in good company.

Cartoon of the Week

Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

David Fitzsimmons of the Arizona Daily Star keeps his win streak alive!

 

Political Calendar: Week of October 31, 2010

Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

The Political Calendar is posted on Sundays. Please send us notice of your political events prior to the Sunday before your event (7 days would be most helpful). See the calendar icon in the right-hand column of the blog page for easy access to the calendar.

Happy Halloween!

G O T V ! Please give of your time and effort.

Important Dates for 2010 General Election

Last Day to Vote/Mail in an Early Ballot: Friday, October 29 Too late! (If you have not yet sent in your mail-in ballot, do not mail it! It will not arrive in time and your vote will not be counted! Instead, drop off your ballot at any polling location on Election Day. You can locate a convenient polling site here.)

Last Chance Election Day: Tuesday, November 2

Political Calendar For The Week of October 31, 2010

Sundays, 6:00 p.m.: Drinking Liberally, at The Shanty, 401 E. 9th Street (at 4th Avenue). An informal, inclusive progressive social group, and lively discussion. See special announcement from Michael Bryan at the top of the page. No meeting this Sunday. Contact: www.livingliberallytucson.org.

Monday, October 25, Noon: Democrats of Greater Tucson luncheon, Dragon's View Restaurant (400 N. Bonita, south of St. Mary's Road between the Freeway and Grande Avenue, turn south at Furr's Cafeteria), buffet lunch costs $8.50. Featured speakers are Pima County Democratic Party Chairman Jeff Rogers and Executive Director Adam Kinsey - let's finish strong! Visit DGT's web site at www.tucsondemocrats.org. Next Week: House Minority Whip Chad Campbell speaking on what to expect out of the upcoming legislative session.

Tuesday, November 2, 7:00 p.m: Last Chance Election Day! Pima County Democrats will hold their general election party at the Tucson Marriott University Park, 880 E. Second Street. There is no cost for admission, however the PCDP requests those attending bring “cash or cans” for the Community Food Bank.

In Phoenix, the Election Night Party begins at 6:00 p.m. at the Wyndham Phoenix hotel, 50 E. Adams Street.  Come Celebrate the Arizona victories with other Democrats!  Special guests: Attorney General Terry Goddard, Andrei Cherny, Rep. Chris Deschene, Penny Kotterman, Felicia Rotellini, Rep. Chad Campbell, Rep. David Lujan, Rep. Kyrsten Sinema.  Join us in the Grand Ballroom to hear from our candidates and watch the election night result come in LIVE!  This event is FREE and open to the public. Cash bar and food will be available. For more information contact Katy June at kjune@azdem.org or (602) 234-6822.

Wednesday, November 3, 6:00 p.m.: Northwest Democrats meeting, at Thunder Canyon Brewery Restaurant (upstairs room), 7401 N. LaCholla Boulevard (East Side of Foothills Mall at Ina/LaCholla). Featured speaker is Rep. Nancy Young-Wright. Admission is free, all welcome, please arrive by 6:00 p.m. to order from the menu. For more information please call Marty Drozdoff at (520) 742-1019.

Special Announcements:

Tuesday, November 9, 6:30 p.m.: Pima County Democratic Party Executive Committee meeting.

Monday, November 15, 6:00 p.m.: Legislative District 25 (Pima County) Biennial Reorganization meeting, at the Wheeler Taft Abbett, Sr. Library, 6800 N. Schisler Drive (Marana). Special meeting for election of officers for the next two year cycle. All are welcome. Only elected PCs in LD 25 (Pima County) may vote. For more information please contact Catalina Hall at (520) 572-1881.

Monday, November 15, 6:00 p.m.: Legislative District 29 Biennial Reorganization meeting, at the Sam Lena Library, 1607 S. 6th Avenue (South Tucson), Special meeting for election of officers for the next two year cycle. All are welcome. Only elected PCs in LD 29 may vote. For more information please contact Laura Elías de la Torre at (520) 465-5390 or LD29Chair@gmail.com.

Tuesday, November 16, 7:00 p.m.: Legislative District 26 Biennial Reorganization meeting, at the Metro Water Board Room,  6265 N. La Cañada Drive. Special meeting for election of officers for the next two year cycle. All are welcome. Only elected PCs in LD 26 may vote. For more information please contact Don Jorgensen at (520) 742-5182.

Wednesday, November 17, 7:00 p.m.: Legislative District 28 Biennial Reorganization meeting, at PCDP Headquarters, 4639 E. 1st Street (one block south of Speedway, east of Swan Road). Special meeting for election of officers for the next two year cycle. All are welcome. Only elected PCs in LD 28 may vote. For more information please contact Wood Sanders at (520) 319-0345 or LD28Chair@gmail.com.

Saturday, November 20: Arizona Democratic Party Fall State Committee Meeting, at the Wyndham Phoenix hotel, 50 E. Adams Street (Phoenix). Executive Committee 8:00 a.m., Registration 9:00 a.m., Caucus Meetings 9:00 a.m. - Noon, Business Meeting 1:00 p.m. Full information at www.azdem.or/about/state_committee.

Monday, November 22, 6:00 p.m.: Legislative District 27 Biennial Reorganization meeting, at the Downtown Main Library, 101 N. Stone Avenue. Special meeting for election of officers for the next two year cycle. All are welcome. Only elected PCs in LD 27 may vote. For more information please contact Jim Hannley at (520) 792-1229 or jhannley2@msn.com.

Saturday, December 4, 10:00 a.m.: Legislative District 30 Biennial Reorganization meeting, at PCDP Headquarters, 4639 E. 1st Street (one block south of Speedway, east of Swan Road). Special meeting for election of officers for the next two year cycle. All are welcome. Only elected PCs in LD 30 may vote. For more information please contact Suzanne Newton, (520) 733-0627 or aznewton4@aol.com.

Josh Brodesky embarrassed himself

by David Safier

This morning's Star carries an op ed by our own Mike Bryan which is an answer to Josh Brodesky's column last Sunday, Speculation, innuendo become cyber-staples of blog world.

First, my thanks to the Star for giving Mike a chance to respond in the paper. Second, my admiration for Mike's excellent piece, both from the standpoint of tone and content.

Here at BfA, we've held back commenting on Brodesky's piece until Mike had a chance to respond in the Star. Now that it's out, let me put down a few thoughts.

I had a 45 minute conversation/interview with Brodesky before he finished his column. He seems like a decent, intelligent guy. But man, is he unequipped to write about the content of blogs!

Brodesky admitted to me, as he mentioned in the column, that he doesn't really read blogs. From the column:

"What you are missing is an understanding of the culture of a blog," Safier said. Maybe so. I don't read many of them.

"I don't read many of them," is something of an understatement. Brodesky doesn't read, or know much about, blogs, period. He showed no recognition when I mentioned Talking Points Memo, for instance, which is the touchstone for a progressive-leaning blog which now has grown into a Blog-plus, with a large staff of journalists who report as well as a number of staffers and others who act as bloggers and columnists. And Brodesky had no idea there are a number of anonymous bloggers writing in Arizona politcal blogs until I told him.

Brodesky says he's too busy to follow blogs. Fine. That's his choice. A poor choice, in my opinion, for a youngish journalist in a quickly evolving journalistic world, but his choice. But he shouldn't write about blogs if he hasn't taken the time to see how they work. That's just foolish. And amateurish. And un-journalistic.

So, the question which occurs to me is, if Brodesky doesn't read blogs, how did he come to pick out a few posts from BfA to write about? He certainly didn't find them on his own. He told me he didn't take time to research the blog. When I told him about some stories I've broken or added to which have actually been picked up by the MSM, he didn't have an inkling.

So how did he get ahold of those 3 or 4 posts by me and AZ Blue Meanie to write about?

Here, I'm going to indulge in the kind of speculation Brodesky criticizes in his column.

I think he either heard people in the newsroom criticizing BfA, or he was given the column topic as an assignment. The Star clearly hates the story about Brewer's possible biopsy for thyroid cancer which I have posted about on numerous occasions, and Brodesky focused on one of those posts. They've given the story minimal coverage but have rushed to write about Brewer's non-denial denials. ("I'm in excellent health. What did you say? Biopsy? No comment. I'm in excellent health.") And current members of the Star staff have been upset about some of the things written about them in the blog, not to mention former staffers.

So my speculation is, someone on staff suggested Brodesky write about blogs, focusing on BfA, or someone on the publisher/editor end gave him the topic as an assignment. If I'm right and Brodesky accepted the suggestion or the assignment to write on a topic he doesn't have enough knowledge to write about in his personal column which is supposed to reflect his personal, but informed, views, that's an embarrassment to him and to the paper.

Yes, this is speculation, but now I'm going to sound like a journalist for a minute. Before Brodesky's column was published, I left a voice message on his Star telephone telling him about my speculation and asking him to respond. As they say in the news biz, Brodesky has not returned my call.

Brodesky has my home phone and my email -- and he has the comments section of the blog. If my speculation is incorrect and Brodesky wants to contact me and set me straight, I would be happy to post a correction. That's what we do here on BfA. We try our damndest to get it right, and when we're told we've gotten it wrong, we post corrections. That's one way we let our readers know they can trust what they read here. They can trust it to be partisan, but factually accurate.

Felicia Rotellini Takes Tom Horne Apart on Fox 10

By Michael Bryan

This is almost painful to watch as Felicia practically de-bones and fillets Tom. It brings a little joy to my heart thinking that Felicia Rotellini will be Arizona's next top cop. She's a tough, straight-shooter.

The NPR Story that Every Arizonan Should Hear

You might have heard some news about the NPR story connecting SB1070 and the private prison industry though ALEC. Here's the story in full. It's worth your time to listen and to read:

Here's the follow-up story about the American Legislative Exchange Council, which is a disturbing story of unregulated influence pedaling of it's own, even without the SB1070 connection:

The Rally to Restore Sanity and the Election to Preserve It

By Michael Bryan

I went to the Rally to Restore Sanity. The Tucson gathering, that is. You can get an idea of the turn-out from the photos I took and posted to Facebook. 

It was a great deal of fun and I saw a lot of people who might not otherwise be interested in actually participating in politics giving an ear to three hours of fairly sophisticated political satire. I think that's encouraging. It's something. Which is better than nothing.

However, I did gather an entirely subjective and non-scientific impression that it really was a very Democratically inclined turn-out in D.C., and likely in the all the satellite rallies. I'm really not sure if a message of sanity and civility in our political culture has much resonance on the right. You know, sanity has a well-established liberal bias, after all.

In any case, I did not note ANY prominent conservatives at the local rally. It could just be that everyone is too busy walking and phone-banking as the election looms to bother with this thing, as commenters here and on Facebook pointed out. But more the 250,000 people thought it was important enough to show up on the National Mall, and a few hundred here in Tucson. That so many people devoted some time to emphasizing the message that our political culture is a mess and our media is making it worse has got to be significant.

What's the significance? My guess is this: there is a deep reservoir of calm, common sense in the American people. They see that the overheated rhetoric, fear-mongering, jingoism, and out-right lies that pervade our politics and media are not addressing our very real problems. And that pisses them off a little. Exasperates them a little. And maybe, just maybe, makes them want to do something about it a little - like vote. Or walk. Or phone-bank. Or donate to a candidate who's not insane. 

I'm all for doing a little. That's why this blog exists. That's why I started Drinking Liberally in Tucson. So that people who might not otherwise do anything, might do a little. And by doing a little realize they would like to do more, and can do more. And might realize that they can make a big difference just by doing just a little.

Here's your chance. Organizing for America, President Obama's ground game, is tracking GOTV efforts across the country and plugging folks into those efforts. You can see what's going on in Tucson and other locations on the website.

Let's leave the GOP reeling in shock about how badly their polls and generic ballots and self-agrandizing predictions turned out for them on election night.

I don't know what to say

by David Safier

I posted last night about the clear signals that Foothills School Board candidate Tammy Caillet-Falbaum is not only hoping to steer the school district in a more conservative direction, but she's part of a concerted effort, probably led by John Munger, to push for a hard core, conservative educational agenda.

Here is what her signs look like as of yesterday. I've been told all her signs are flying two flags now.

No, I don't hate the flag, in case someone is thinking about making a comment like that. But this kind of flag waving is right wing territory, and creating an equation of education with patriotism leads to a kind of educational agenda which ignores historical reality in favor of American mythology.

3 Reasons (among many) Huppenthal should not be Ed Supe

by David Safier

This is probably my last Huppenthal post before the election, though you never know what will happen between now and then that might lead to another post.

Here are three examples of the kind of fast-and-loose-with-facts-and-logic person Huppenthal is. Two of these involve leaps of logic and research which I would not have accepted in my high school English classes.

1. The first is a 30 second clip of Huppenthal talking on the Senate floor. Huppenthal is explaining why we should have private school tuition tax credits, and, by extension, private school vouchers. His main reason is that all children should get government funding, no matter what schools they go to. And here is how he explains that:

"All members of the public are created equal in the eyes of God and deserve equal support."

What can you say about a sentence like that? Its utter, jaw-dropping nonsense leaves one stunned. I guess if you want to follow the statement to its logical conclusion, you could say, every citizen of the country should have the same medical coverage as people on Medicare because "all members of the public are created equal in the eyes of God and deserve equal support." The uses of that phrase are endless, and each is as ridiculous as the one before it. The phrases "Equal in the eyes of God" and "Equally funded by the government" don't have much in common, unless you're a sanctimonious twit who is trying to score points.

The mind reels.

Leading up to that statement, Huppenthal also uses two false numbers, and he knows it.

First he says the cost to the public of tuition tax credits is about $600 per student. Hupp knows full well many students get multiple scholarships, and many children from wealthy families get their full tuition paid by tuition tax credits, sometimes to the tune of $10,000 a year. And he also knows that many of those students would be in private school anyway, so any taxpayer cost for those children is more than we would have spent without tax credits.

Second, he said we spend $9,600 per public school student. I won't even delve into that canard which is only used by the Goldwater Institute and Republican politicians.

Here's the clip.

 

2. The second is a factoid I've heard Hupp use repeatedly, which is that our university Schools of Education are among the worst in the nation, based on an assessment by the National Council on Teacher Quality, and the greatest offender is UA, since it's responsible for TUSD teachers (and Hupp thinks TUSD is the devil's spawn).

This is typical Huppenthal research cherry picking. According to the Capitol Times, the only study he could be referring to is one published in 2008 which put UA among 34 schools failing to adequately prepare elementary teachers to teach math. Not a glowing recommendation, certainly, but one in 34 that fails in a single category does not make UA one of the worst ed schools in the nation.

3. This last one is less a leap of logic than a leap into an area the Ed Supe should stay out of: university curriculum. In the same Capitol Times article, Hupp said he would go beyond his earlier promise to rid TUSD of ethnic studies and go after university ethnic studies programs as well.

“That’s really the problem, this stuff is coming out of our universities and the ethnic studies there,” Huppenthal said. “Just dealing with it in Tucson Unified, I think you also have to deal with it over there at the University of Arizona.”

He said if he is elected he will use the superintendent of public instruction’s ex-officio seat on the Board of Regents to carry his fight to the next level.  Huppenthal would be one of 11 voting members on the board.

He continued talking about messing with the university curriculum saying he wanted to get his hands on teacher education programs because ours are the worst in the nation -- according to a study that doesn't actually say that.

In a few days, we'll decide whether Huppenthal or Kotterman will be our Ed Supe. Hupp will give us more of what we've gotten from Horne and the legislature -- enough more, we might end up looking back on the Golden Age of Tom Horne. Kotterman will resist the push toward restriction of academic freedom in schools and greater privatization of education. She'll support serious educational reform and push for the kind of school funding our children deserve.

Let's make it Kotterman on Tuesday. For the sake of the children. And the college students. And the state.

Vote Sanity 11.02.10

Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

The Rally to Restore Sanity has concluded. It struck me as performance art, an extended version of The Daily Show and The Colbert Report mocking the political media for its insane coverage of politics. Blog for Arizona makes this same point on a regular basis.

I saw a number of people in the crowd shots with rolls of stickers for Vote Sanity which Billy Wimsatt explains at the Huffington Post:

In the past few weeks, a bunch of us have pulled together some last minute actions. The goal is to transform Saturday events in people's minds from merely a giant Halloween party and comedy show on the mall into... a giant Halloween party and comedy show on the mall that inspires people to volunteer and vote between now and Tuesday.

We're calling our campaign VOTE SANITY. We have 50,000 large VOTE SANITY stickers and a bunch of signs for people to wear at the rally and then take home. We also have "I Voted Sanity" images for people to use as Facebook profile pictures, some hilarious videos and websites like Welcome to Crazytown, and Young Voters: A Bigger Threat Than Bears, a Crazytown Quiz, and an actual ahem, totally scientific and unbiased vote that will be taking place in the crowd and online where people have the choice to "Vote Sanity" or "Vote Fear." It's all thrown together fast but the idea is still pretty cute. The VoteFear.com website is sponsored by Republicorp. Then right after the rally, on Sunday, it's Halloween and Trick or Vote is ready with a huge nationwide canvass-in-costume.

* * *

Vote Sanity is clearly a great message for all of us to be using right now. Not that we need to drop all our other messages. But we do need to become more nimble. I'm actually working 24/7 on another project right now called TheBallot.org which aggregates all the local progressive voter guides in the country --it's a really important project. Every progressive voter in America needs a voter guide. I'm not about to drop this for Vote Sanity. But the beauty of Vote Sanity is that it connects perfectly with any other progressive message. See, here's a Vote Sanity logo with TheBallot.org on the bottom. You can do the same thing.

On behalf of professional leftists everywhere, I apologize for not starting earlier. We could have printed five million stickers and posters, sent some to your town, gotten on TV and made this really big. In the meantime, we encourage you to spread these images online and make your own Vote Sanity stickers, signs, images, videos, designs and tweet them @votesanity.

If you're attending the Sanity rally in DC, we'll be meeting up at 7th Street and Madison Drive NW from 9am - 11am to pass out 50,000 stickers. If you're not coming to DC, please use the VOTE SANITY image as your Facebook profile, make your own posters and get on local TV.

In fact, go crazy with it!

Don't get us wrong. We have nothing against crazy people. Some of our best friends are crazy. We just don't want to wake up on Wednesday morning and find out that they are in charge of our government.

So whatever else you do, please Vote Sanity on Saturday AND on Tuesday.

The sanity of our county depends on it.

 

Jim Kolbe: "I've never endorsed a Democrat for high office before . . ."

by David Safier

Never is a very long time. Jim Kolbe is endorsing Andre Cherny's candidacy, his first endorsement of a Dem for high office. In fact, he's chair of Cherny's campaign.

So many prominent moderate Republicans endorsing Democrats. So much concern among thoughtful Republicans about the state of the AZ GOP. So little time before the election.

I've never endorsed a Democrat for high office before, but I've been proud to not only support Andrei Cherny for State Treasurer, but to serve as the chair of his campaign.  I know he can bring more fiscal responsibility to Arizona government by using audits to go after waste and top-down bureaucracy.  And he'll be a leader who's more interested in getting things done than scoring political points.  He'll put principle ahead of partisanship because that's what he's done before.

Tomorrow, Andrei is starting a 24-hour non-stop campaign swing that will take him to every county in the state.  Imagine what this kind of energy and hard work could accomplish in government!

As a former Republican congressman, I’ve taken my share of heat for crossing party lines and chairing Andrei’s campaign.  I know Andrei has too for asking me.  But it’s crucial we get past the partisan trench warfare that has held us back.  Will you help us make this happen?  We’re less than 3 days away from Election Day and this is a very close campaign.  Will you make a contribution today so Andrei can get his message out in this important last weekend of campaigning?

Andrei and I won’t agree on every issue, but I have a lot of respect for his leadership and vision. And I know that he’s the best person for this job.

We aren't going to fix problems if we don't have leaders that will cross party lines.  And we won't have those leaders if we don't support and help the candidates who are willing to break out of the partisan strongholds.  By asking me to chair his campaign, Andrei has shown he's ready to do that.  I hope you'll lend a helping hand to our efforts today.

Thanks,
Jim Kolbe
Chair of Andrei for Arizona

UPDATE: Sheriff Joe Arpaio denies he authorized e-mail making bogus voter fraud claims in voter suppression effort

Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

But will he disavow his relationship as the honorary co-chairman of this vigilante group?

Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio's name was "mistakenly" signed onto a fundraising e-mail by a group that warned that illegal immigrants were compromising the upcoming election. Group used Arpaio's name without permission:

Ban Amnesty Now President Sean McCaffrey said Friday that his group mocked up the e-mail in Arpaio's name, but never sought the sheriff's approval and that it was sent to 1 percent to 2 percent of the 1.3 million people on its distribution list.

"The content of the e-mail, I stand by it," said McCaffrey, who later put his own name on the e-mail after the mistake was discovered. "It came as a complete surprise to Sheriff Joe and his team."

McCaffrey, whose group opposes amnesty for illegal immigrants, said he called Arpaio to apologize for Tuesday's e-mail and that the sheriff has taken a leave as the organization's honorary co-chairman.

Sheriff's office spokes-man Jesse Spurgin confirmed the group never sought Arpaio's approval, but didn't know whether the sheriff was still involved with the group.

Earlier this week, Arizona Secretary of State Ken Bennett tried to quell rumors that activist groups have registered thousands of illegal immigrants in the state. He had said inquiries by his office and local officials indicated that allegations of voter-registration fraud in Yuma County or elsewhere are without merit.

UPDATE: The Arizona Guardian (subscription required) now reports that Sheriff Joe Arpaio has severed his ties to this vigilante group. Arpaio quits immigration group; voter fraud claims persist:

Days after launching his own fundraising effort, Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio has severed ties to an anti-immigration group that used his name on a mass email without permission.

The Arizona Capitol Times (subscription required) similarly reports Arpaio splits with illegal-immigration group:

Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio severed his ties with an anti-illegal immigration group over a mass email that went out to thousands of people under his name.

Jesse Kelly makes "Worst Persons" for bogus voter fraud claim

Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

Jesse Kelly made "Worst Persons" on the Friday edition of Countdown with Keith Olbermann for his bogus claim about Mexicans being bused across the border to vote in Arizona elections.

The silver, Jesse Kelly, the Tea Party-Republican candidate for the Arizona 8th Congressional District. He was a guest on a radical right-wing radio show when he was asked by the host Mark Levin about "Democratic dirty tricks," and Kelly just sort of took off.

"People have video of them busing people across from our southern border. We're a border district. They literally bus people across from Mexico to have them vote at the polls on Election Day, give them a meal and then bus them back. It's been done in the past. So we're really fighting against that down here."

If Mr. Kelly has seen Mexicans being bused across the Arizona desert he must be high on peyote. Or the supposed videotape for that matter. As Mr. Kelly's campaign spokesman himself pointed out "nobody could have seen them busing Mexicans to vote illegal in Arizona this year because the election isn't until next Tuesday."

As to it happening in the past, a Nexus search turned up no arrests, no investigations, no reports of Mexicans being brought in by bus to vote in previous Arizona elections.

The would-be congressman Kelly apparently just made it up. Or maybe some of those headless torsos that Arizona's Governor Jan Brewer claims were found in the Arizona desert told him about them.*

Despite Republican congressional candidate Jesse Kelly's claim, the Secretary of State's Office has seen no evidence of or complaints about people being bused across the border to vote in Arizona elections. Political briefs:

Such a practice would violate Arizona immigration and election laws, said Matt Benson, a spokesman for the Secretary of State's Office.

"That would be a serious concern if we had any indication that it was occurring, but we do not," Benson said. Kelly's campaign has not filed a formal complaint, he added.

* * *

The back-and-forth comes as the Republican Party continues to insist there has been attempted voter fraud in Yuma County, even though the Republican secretary of state disputed that and the Republican Yuma County recorder said the allegations are "rumor-filled and without substantive merit."

If Republicans really believe this bullshit they should demand an investigation into Republican Secretaries of State Jane Hull, Betsy Bayless and Jan Brewer (1995-2008) who failed to do their job by permitting Mexicans to be bused in to vote in previous Arizona elections. Especially since the Prop. 200 photo ID requirement to vote at the polls in effect since 2005, when Jan Brewer was our Secretary of State. Yeah, I didn't think so.

* Better late than never. Arizona has its first case of a beheading, and just in time for Election Day. Not found in the desert, mind you, that's still a lie, but in a Chandler apartment. Chandler beheading raises fears of drug violence.

Republican UA President Emeritus John Schaefer adds to his Democratic endorsement list

by David Safier

I already wrote about John Schaefer's endorsement of LD-26's Nancy Young Wright and Cheryl Cage in a post detailing R endorsements of D candidates statewide. Now Schaefer has expanded his endorsement list to include all the Democratic candidates in LD-25 and LD-30, along with Penny Kotterman for Ed Supe.

The factor linking all those candidates is their support of education.

Thank you for your support of education in Arizona. In the upcoming election it is critical to elect pro-education candidates, regardless of party, who are truly committed to the children and future of Arizona. This link (Pro-Education Candidates) has a list of names of pro-education candidates that I ask you to vote for on November 2nd. Please share this information with your family, friends and colleagues.

While I recognize that many of you have already given to candidates this year, there is a critical need to help Representative Pat Fleming and Todd Camenisch finish strong.

Representative Fleming stood against cuts to education that are decimating our public education system and crippling our community colleges and universities. Todd Camenisch is committed to education as seen with his pledge not to cut education and his work as an Associate Professor at the University of Arizona and service on the Catalina Foothills School Board. Both candidates recognize the importance of education to creating jobs and moving Arizona forward.

Please give as much as you can give to one or both of these candidates. It will cost us all far more if these candidates are not successful in their elections.

We still have an opportunity to affect the makeup of the upcoming Legislature. Currently, there is a real risk that the next Legislature could be even less education friendly than the past one. Each of us can make a difference. I ask that you assist in this effort by voting for pro-education candidates on November 2nd and by contributing to these pro-education candidates as you can.
Thank You for working with me to support education in Arizona!

List of candidates to financially support:
Pat Fleming -- www.patflemingaz.com
Todd Camenisch -- www.azvote4todd.com
 
List of candidates to vote for:
District 25 -- Manny Alvarez, Pat Fleming, Ruben Ortega
District 26 -- Cheryl Cage, Nancy Young-Wright
District 30 -- Todd Camenisch, Andrea D'allesandro
Superintendent of Public Instruction -- Penny Kotterman

 

John Munger's letter in support of Foothills School Board candidate -- on his firm's stationery

by David Safier

A letter was mailed to residents of the Foothills School District October 26 from Munger Chadwick P.L.C., Attorneys at Law, signed by John Munger. It is a letter of endorsement for Tammy Caillet-Falbaum, who is running for Foothills School District Board. The letter is on official Munger Chadwick stationery and came in the firm's envelope with its return address at the top. You can see the letter and the top of the envelope below the fold.

In case you don't know John Munger, he's a very conservative Tucson attorney who has been involved in local Republican politics for years and ran for Governor this year. He dropped out fairly early in the primary season.

If there was any question before, it's clear now that Caillet-Falbaum is backed by a concerted effort to get a political conservative on the Foothills School Board. As education becomes increasingly politicized, conservatives want to have a stronger voice on school boards. That's their right, of course, but it's important that people understand what's going on. If you look at Caillet-Falbaum's website and listen to her speak, you get only hints of her conservative leanings.

As I have posted earlier, Caillet-Falbaum's campaign has spent thousands of dollars on signs with her color photo as well as other forms of campaigning. The campaign actually spent a few thousand dollars on a kickoff party, which shows how much money it had to burn. Well funded campaigns for school board are almost unheard of. Most candidates spend less than $500. Together, John Munger and his wife alone contributed $820, more than the total expenditures on most school board campaigns.

Some people really, really want Caillet-Falbaum to be on that school board.

So what are her positions? If you look on her website, you'll find innocuous, general statements about what she wants to accomplish. The only indication I have seen of her conservative educational positions is in her answers to an email she received which asked a few pointed questions.

She believes, for instance, that Intelligent Design should be taught in school alongside evolution:

Most information about evolutionary theory tends to present the argument as fact. Schools often present evolutionary theory as fact. Creation, or intelligent design theory, is most often disallowed from public school discussion, yet even Charles Darwin had doubts about the conclusions his questions left him with . . . It is my belief, that until we have concrete evidence to the contrary, evolution and intelligent design should be taught side-by-side as possible theories, and not as fact.

She was asked if she supported abstinence only sex education. Her answer danced around the issue, using a quote which calls it "abstinence focused education" and saying it should be incorporated into the curriculum.

She supports tuition tax credits, saying they save the state money.

She was asked why, since she sends her children to private school, does she want to serve on the board? Her answer was, she wants to "serve as an unbiased advocate for every member of this district."

Those answers will make some people support her more, others less, but unlike her website, they give some indication of what she will bring to the school board. In my opinion, she will also bring John Munger's ideas and tactics with her, which she will use to try and refocus the board and the district toward an educationally conservative agenda.

Let me end this with two questions about Munger's letter. First, the cost of creating and mailing the letter is clearly coming out of his pocket. There is no "Paid for by . . ." statement to be found. I don't know if this in considered an in kind contribution to the campaign, which could raise red flags with elections regulations, or if it's just considered an individual expressing his opinion.

Second, how did Munger get the names and addresses of the people he sent the letter to? I have reason  to believe he created a mailing list from a directory Foothills parents can buy listing the names and addresses of all the families sending children to the district's schools. That directory says the information is supposed to be for private use only. If Munger had someone type out addresses on a large quantity of envelopes and send the letter to hundreds or maybe thousands of parents -- I doubt he just sent out a few dozen, that wouldn't justify the effort -- he is violating the spirit the directory was created in, at the very least. I don't know if there are any legal issues involved.

Expect to see more well funded conservative candidates running for school boards in future elections. I have been told that Scott Leska, running for the Amphi School Board, is cut from similar cloth to Caillet-Falbaum and also has far more street signs than other candidates, even though his most recent campaign finance statement lists under $100 in expenditures, none of which went for signs. His final statement, I imagine, will tell the tale of his finances and campaign backers.

You can read Munger's letter and the top portion of the envelope below the fold.

National Groups Denounce McClung for Plan to Privatize Social Security and Cut Benefits for Arizona Seniors

Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

Press release from:

Alliance for Retired Americans
National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare
Social Security Works 

Groups Denounce McClung for Plan to Privatize Social Security and Cut Benefits for Arizona Seniors

Say McClung Would Cut Benefits by Up to 50%

 Tucson, Ariz. – Leaders of three prominent national organizations today condemned Ruth McClung, candidate for Arizona’s seventh congressional district, for her new campaign ad that claims Social Security has been raided and that Rep. Raul Grijalva is to blame for it. They demanded that McClung take down the false ad.

 “McClung’s ad is filled with misinformation, deception and lies,” said Nancy Altman, Co-chair of Social Security Works and a former advisor to Federal Reserve Board Chairman Alan Greenspan when he chaired a commission to reform Social Security in 1983. “This ad appears to be a desperate attempt to hide the fact that McClung supports a radical plan to privatize Social Security and hand peoples’ hard-earned contributions over to Wall Street. On top of that, McClung’s plan would cut benefits by up to 50 percent.”

 On her campaign website McClung endorses a plan sponsored by Rep. Paul Ryan, (R-Wisc.) that would radically change Social Security by creating private retirement accounts. To fund these accounts more than a trillion dollars would be drained from Social Security’s guaranteed benefit program, and benefits would be cut by up to 50 percent once the program is fully phased in.    

“Raul Grijalvja has stood firm for no cuts in Social Security, including no increase in the retirement age, and no privatization,” said Barbara Kennelly, President of the National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare. “Unlike former President Bush and other opponents of Social Security, he never has and never would call U.S. Treasury bonds held in trust for American workers and their families, IOUs. He respects the nation’s commitment to Social Security, and understands it as a sacred trust. Any implication otherwise is an outrageous lie.”

“Rep. Raúl M. Grijalva is a champion of seniors and of the Social Security program as a whole,” said Rich Fiesta, Director of Government and Political Affairs, at the Alliance for Retired Americans. “Rep. Grijalva has been central in the successful fight to ensure that Social Security pays all benefits in full and on time for every American who has earned them.”

Grijalva has led an effort in the U.S. House of Representatives to get members of Congress to stand against any attempts to cut benefits, raise the retirement age, or privatize aspects of the program.  A letter he authored that was recently sent to President Obama opposing cuts to Social Security has 136 signatures.

 According to the latest Trustees Report, Social Security ran a surplus of over $120 billion last year. It has never borrowed a penny from anyone, including China. Social Security’s $2.6 trillion are safely invested in interest-bearing U.S. Treasuries, backed by the full faith and credit of the United States. Those who want to cut Social Security benefits rather than honor those bonds are the ones who would be raiding Social Security if they had the chance.

###

Arizona Advocacy Network Poll Watcher Training

Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

Press release from the Arizona Advocacy Network:

Anti-Latino groups are preparing to harass voters at the polls.

Volunteers needed to protect the vote in AZ!

 ____________________________________________________

This week Sheriff Joe Arpaio sent an alarming email to 800,000 of his loyal supporters asking them to help "STOP ILLEGALS FROM STEALING THE ELECTION!" by joining his "grassroots army of VOTER FRAUD PREVENTION VOLUNTEERS."   

Now we are asking for your help to PREVENT VIGILANTES FROM INTIMIDATING VOTERS.  AzAN needs YOU to volunteer for One Arizona's Election Protection effort and help ensure that no voter is turned away at the polls on Tuesday. 

To volunteer, send an email to volunteer@azadvocacy.org or call our office at 602-297-2500.  We need people to sign up for two and 1/2 hour shifts in the morning (6am to 8:30am) and evenings (4:30pm to 7pm).  We are offering trainings throughout the weekend and on Monday.

You will be supported by a team of attorneys ready to take action if voters are being intimidated or turned away at the polls.  In 2006 and 2008 our volunteers were able to help hundreds of voters that otherwise would not have voted.  This year we expect to help even more.  Your participation will make a difference. 

Sign up to volunteer by clicking here: volunteer@azadvocacy.org and letting us know when you can attend a training session.  If you have been a volunteer with us in the past, you may not need training.

TRAINING SESSIONS:
Saturday, 10/30/2010 at 3:00pm
Sunday, 10/31/2010 at 2:00pm
Monday, 11/1/2010 at 6:00pm

Email us at volunteer@azadvocacy.org to find out training locations.

Attorneys will standing by to help voters on Election Day at these toll-free hotlines.

Please share these numbers widely!

1-866-OUR-VOTE  (1-866-687-8683)
1-888-VE-Y-VOTA (1-888-839-8682)

Thanks for all you do!

--Linda

Arizona Advocacy Network
1616 E. Indian School Road
Phoenix, Arizona 85016
602-297-2500

G O T V !

Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

"Now is the time for all good men and women to come to the aid of their country."

I took a day off from work today and spent the day walking and dropping lit in targeted precincts for get out the vote (GOTV). The GOTV push has been underway since Thursday. If you have not given of your time, this is your last chance to stand up and to be counted. Do you want to tell your children or grandchildren someday that when your country needed you most that you were too busy?  Fight the right and restore sanity to Arizona. This is a turnout election and your services are needed. Do what you can.

Here in Pima County, Get Out the Vote in CD 8 with Our Arizona, the coordinated campaign, for Congresswoman Giffords, Terry Goddard, and our whole Democratic slate! There are three offices in CD 8 to choose from -- sign up to volunteer NOW!

Thur., 10/28 - Mon., 11/1:
Phone banks at 9 AM, 1 PM, and 5 PM
Canvasses/Lit drops at 9 AM, 1 PM, and 4 PM

Tue., 11/2:
Phone banks at 9 AM, 12 PM, and 3 PM
Canvasses/Lit drops at 9 AM, 12 PM, and 3 PM

Get out the vote in CD 7 for Congressman Grijalva, Terry Goddard, and our whole Democratic slate! The office is open from 9 AM - 9 PM daily. (Please note the special location for predictive dialer phone banks.)

Sat., 10/30:
Canvass: 9 AM (big event!) and 2 PM
Call: All day
Predictive dialer phone-banks*: 12 PM and 3 PM

Sun., 10/31:
Canvass: 1 PM and 4 PM
Call: All day
Predictive dialer phone-banks*: 12 PM and 3 PM

Mon., 11/1:
Canvass: All day
Call: All day
Predictive dialer phone-banks*: 11 AM, 2 PM and 5 PM

Tue., 11/2:
Canvass: 7 AM lit drop; 9 AM, 1 PM, and 4 PM canvasses
Call: 9 AM - 6:45 PM
Predictive dialer phone-banks*: 9 AM, 12 PM and 3 PM
Work the polls: early morning, lunch, and evening

Pima Dems HQ - 4639 E. 1st St.
Contact: Caitlin Brady, (520) 869-8868 or cbrady@ourarizona.org

Northwest Field Office - 2860 W. Ina Rd., Suite 100 (next to Oro Valley Bikes)
Contact: Brittni Storrs, (520) 575-5875 or brittni@giffordsforcongress.com

Green Valley - 220 W. Continental Rd.
Contact: Heath Vescovi, (480) 252-5808 or hvescovi@ourarizona.org

Grijalva for Congress HQ - 452 S. Stone Ave.
Contact: Brissia Perez, (520) 629-0050 or brissia@grijalvaforcongress.com

* Special location for predictive dialer phone banks ONLY:
Glassman for Senate HQ, 2900 E. Broadway Blvd., Suite 134

Huppenthal: Cut UA Ethnic Studies programs

by David Safier

I'm certain I heard Huppenthal say, during a primary candidates' forum, that TUSD's Ethnic Studies program should be cut, because the high school kids are too young and impressionable. Programs like that are more suited to the University.

Since then, I guess Huppenthal has decided that statement wasn't anti-Ethnic enough. Now he's saying, if he becomes Ed Supe, he'll do what he can to put handcuffs on Ethnic Studies at UA as well.

The story is on the password protected Capitol Times, so unfortunately, all I have to go on is the headline and lead sentence:

Huppenthal would seek to restrict ethnic studies at UofA 
By Gary Grado
Published: October 29, 2010 at 7:30 am
Sen. John Huppenthal intends to take his fight against ethnic studies programs to the University of Arizona if he is elected state superintendent of public instruction.

I usually don't use fragments like this for a source, but it's not usually the Friday before an election which could vote someone like Huppental in as our head Ed guy.

The Constitution was written by God for the Anglo Saxon tribes of Israel

by David Safier

If the headline of this post confuses you, that means you -- like me -- don't know very much about the new Constitution education movement going on across the country.

Garrett Epps, "a former reporter for The Washington Post, [who] is a novelist and legal scholar," wrote a piece for the Atlantic about attending a seminar of "The Making of America," led by Lester Pearce, Russell Pearce's brother, in Ashburn, VA.

Here are an excerpt.

. . . we have to learn the basic truth about the Constitution: God wrote it. It comes directly from the government instituted by Moses when he led the Children of Israel out of Egypt. That system was re-instituted in England around 450 A.D. by the Anglo-Saxon rulers Hengist and Horsa. The Founding Fathers, led by Thomas Jefferson, copied the Constitution directly from the "ancient constitution" of the Anglo-Saxons.

At this point a faint alarm bell should be ringing. First of all, just for the record, Jefferson didn't take any part in writing the Constitution. He was in France, and when he read the Constitution he had mixed feelings about it. (Jefferson did actually write the words "a wall of separation between church and state," which Judge Pearce and the NCCS generally regard as a pernicious myth.)

But the louder alarm should come from maps and displays in the materials that suggest, without quite saying, that the Anglo-Saxons were in fact the Ten Lost Tribes of Israel. On page 20 of our workbook, a map shows an arrow marked "Northern Tribes of Israel," running from Palestine to the Caucasus region. That arrow stops in 721 B.C.; another arrow begins at the same place at the same time: "Migration of Celts, Angli, Sacki, etc." It stretches to Northern Europe and then to England. NCCS Founder W. Cleon Skousen's big textbook, The Making of America, says that "many have thought the Yinglings, or Anglo-Saxons, included a branch of the ancient Israelites because they came from the territory of the Black Sea . . . and because they preserved the same unique institutes of government as those which were given to the Israelites at Mount Sinai. But whether related or not, there is certainly irrefutable evidence of a cross-fertilization of laws and cultural values between these two peoples." (Princeton historian Sean Wilentz's recent piece on Skousen is here.)

This coy suggestion embodies what historians call the "British Israel" theory--the idea that the English nation, not the Jews of Europe, is the rightful heir of God's Covenant with Abraham. One of the major figures in the growth of this anti-Semitic ideology in the U.S. was Howard B. Rand. Rand's Anglo-Saxon Federation worked with William B. Cameron, Henry Ford's anti-Semitic ghostwriter, to link British Israelism with the American far right wing.

This is the type of brainwashing we're fighting. The author is amazed that these people sit quietly and attentively through all these explanations, hungry, apparently, to have the Constitution "explained" to them.

Special Drinking Liberally Sessions this Week

By Michael Bryan

Tucson's Drinking Liberally is having two special sessions this week (and no regular Sunday meeting). 

First, on Saturday, 10/30, John Stewart's Rally to Restore Sanity will be simulcast to a local rally here in Tucson at the Club Congress from 9am to noon. Drinking Liberally will be there and will be doing what we do starting at noon at the Club tap room. Look for the liberals toasting John Stewart, America's most influential man.

Next, on Tuesday, election day, 11/2, Drinking Liberally will be having a poll watching session starting at 6pm at Gentle Ben's. We will be right across the street from the Democratic Party election victory celebration, so you can step across the street at any time to press the flesh of the freshly elected.

See you all there! Note that new posts will continue to appear below while this notice remains through Sunday.

How the "Yes on Proposition 107" Side Gets it Wrong on Higher Education

By Jenn

Why the anti-affirmative action folks get it really, really wrong.

Several months ago, I wrote a series of posts on Arizona's latest ballot proposition -- Prop 107 -- which is part of the American Civil Rights Initiative's latest effort to eliminate affirmative action in this state. One of my pieces, Proposition 107: Arizona’s Students Under Attack!, has been widely shared and remains one of the only blog posts on the Internet documenting why and how Prop 107 will hurt Arizona's future. In brief, I draw upon the precedents set in California, which eliminated affirmative action in the mid-nineties, to demonstrate how higher education in Arizona will suffer with Prop 107's passage.

Last week, the Yes on 107 side posted a response to my post on their website. In the interest of public information, I approved their comment publicizing their response on this site, but didn't read it until just now.

I am sorry to say this, but the Yes on 107 argument is filled with the same kind of faulty logic that has come to characterize their side of the debate.

The Yes on 107 side would have you believe that with affirmative action policies -- programs that promote recruitment and retention of underrepresented or underserved  women and minorities -- in place, women and minorities are enrolling in college -- but are simply not equipped to handle the rigours of a university campus. Women and minorities aren't good enough to be in the best schools, argue the Yes on 107 crew, and consequently they are enrolling in and graduating from second-tier universities.

Instead of attending the top couple of public universities in those states, more women and minorities are attending less competitive colleges, where their chances of graduating are much better. Instead of shunting them into universities they are not academically prepared for, leading them to embarrassing failure, they are able to obtain a university education in a school where they have a realistic chance of graduating. 

Yes on 107 would have us believe that women inherently and academically under-perform compared to men, and therefore it is unkind or "embarassing" to "shunt" female students into competitive universities where they are doomed to fail out. Yet, the facts simply do not support this bizarre -- and offensive -- assertion.

Nationally, women are academically out-pacing men in virtually all measures. Girls have a lower high school drop-out rate (75% vs. 62%), and thus a higher high school graduation rate, compared to boys. On average, female students out-number male students on most college campuses by 57% to 43%. Male students have lower-than-average GPAs and college matriculation rate compared to female students, prompting what some policy analysts have termed a "Male Gender Gap" in higher education. One study of enrolled students at Florida and Texas universities concluded:

We find that males take fewer credits and earn lower grades than females in their first semester of enrollment. Male students are also less likely to persist and graduate from college and earn fewer cumulative credits and lower cumulative grades. The male/female differentials are not generally driven by differences in demographics, the quality of high schools and neighborhoods, high school test scores, or the selectivity of the university attended by male and female college enrollees. In fact, many of these factors tend to favor male enrollees. Instead, male enrollees have lower high school grades upon college entry, and this single factor (controlling for test scores and other factors) explains approximately three-quarters of the gender differential in credits earned and GPA in the freshman year.

This trend is mirrored in Arizona (according to a study by Arizona Minority Education Policy Analysis Center, AMEPAC), where female students graduate from high school at rates higher than male students (74.5% vs. 67.3% for the Class of 2001). More women demonstrate sufficient aptitude to meet the acceptance criteria for Arizona's public schools (43.6% vs. 38.2%). Women receive 55.2% of college degrees compared to men. And, women out-number men in Arizona's top universities (shown here in graphical form, because everyone loves graphs!):

Women out-number men on Arizona's college campuses.

Arizona's state universities are public, but I hardly agree with Yes on 107's disparaging remark that women only out-number men on college campuses that are "less competitive", which would seem to refer to our state's schools. Incidentally, I should point out that the academic programs in Arizona are highly competitive. At the University of Arizona (where I currently study), we have one of the best undergraduate physiology programs in the country. Our Optical Sciences graduate program is ranked #1 and is a destination program for engineers.

Further refuting Yes on 107's claim about women, and how "realistic" it is for them to graduate from college, women are equally represented compared to men in top private schools such as Harvard or Princeton, where they seem to be doing a perfectly fine job of graduating: Harvard boasts a 97% graduation rate.

All this isn't to say that women are smarter than men, but it is to refute the claim by Yes on 107 that women are somehow stupider than men, and therefore we are doing them a disservice by enrolling them in college. This is to demonstrate that affirmative action policies, that have helped support, recruit and retain female college students, are working: female student have excelled in higher education as a result, in just a short fifty years since the first female students were accepted into prestigious colleges like Princeton.

(Incidentally, these same statistics also refute Yes on 107's bizarre claim that "[race] preferences favor minorities over women". Not only are women of all races demonstrably succeeding academically under affirmative action, but Yes on 107's argument actually seems to suggest that there is no such thing as a minority woman.)

Now, of course, the successes seen for women are simply not evident for racial minorities. In the same study that I cite above from AMEPAC, Black and Latino students were found to have lower high school graduation rates compared to White students. But the reasons for this are not because Black and Latino students are simply incapable of going to college but are thrust into that environment anyways, as Yes on 107 would suggest, causing them to suffer an "embarassing failure". Instead, it may be because affirmative action policies haven't done enough to recruit and retain Black and Latino students in high school and college.

As evidence, let's turn to George Mason University, a public university in the Northern Virginia area. According to its Wikipedia page, GMU is the largest university in the Commonwealth of Virginia, and is recognized for its strong undergraduate programs in economics, creative writing and computer science, as well as its law program. The U.S. World and News Report ranked GMU #1 in "Up-and-Coming National Universities" in 2008.

GMU also is one of a handful of schools nation-wide that have an equal graduation rate for minority and non-minority students. Administrators of these schools attribute this to the broad recruitment and retention programs -- affirmative action -- they have implemented to support minority students.

The authors wrote that the key to eliminating achievement gaps may rest with "what colleges do with and for the students they admit."

Colleges with high minority graduation rates tend to aggressively recruit a "critical mass" of black and Hispanic students, support them with pre-collegiate preparatory programs and then cultivate a culture of academic success for the entire student body. When a college president sets minority completion "as an important goal and as a priority, that really filters down through the university," Lynch said.

What GMU has done is two-fold: 1) they have increased their recruitment of minority students, and thereby enhanced their pool of highly-qualified minority students, and 2) they have implemented a number of retention programs, including scholarships and tutoring programs, that help all students, regardless of race or gender, succeed. There's no way to get around it: these are affirmative action programs.

And, at GMU, affirmative action programs are working. Not only is GMU one of the most diverse college campuses in the country, but they are ranked exceptionally high, academically. Yes on 107 would have you believe that a school cannot be competitive while accepting women and minority students, but the facts simply do not bear that assertion out.

In summary, the argument that Yes on 107 presents is both non-factual and offensive: they argue that women and minorites are currently unprepared, and therefore incapable, of succeeding in a collegiate environment. They say:

Trying to force them there after they complete high school, when they haven't been adequately academically prepared, isn't the right way to do it. It only serves to embarrass them and ensure they will fail. 

But, in truth, Proposition 107 would seek to eliminate recruitment and retention programs that have demonstrably benefitted, male and female students of all races and backgrounds. If anything, Arizona should look to the model set by schools like GMU, and implement better affirmative action programs to further help recruit and retain our minority students to our state's high schools and universities.

On November 2nd, please vote no on Proposition 107.

Cross-posted: Reappropriate

Vic Williams' Once, Twice, Three Times a Deceptive Mailer

by David Safier

Vic Williams is up to his usual tricks of claiming credit for things he deserves no credit for. This time it's in his recent mailer, and he does it not once, not twice, but three times.

Here's the first problem with the mailer: what looks like a sort-of endorsement from UA President Robert Shelton.

In fact, it's not an endorsement at all. It's just part of a thank you note to Vic for supporting Prop 100. I imagine Shelton sent similar letters to other legislators.

The big problem is, Shelton didn't know his quote, name and photo were being used by Vic until someone asked him if he approved the use or is endorsing Vic. Shelton said he didn't approve the use of his image or his words, and in his position as UA Pres, he doesn't make endorsements. Vic's use of Shelton's words and image is presumptuous and potentially harmful to the nonpartisan image Shelton works to maintain.

Then there's problem two and three on the other side of the mailer.

Vic gets a one-out-of-three on this. He supported Prop 100. But his was the deciding committee vote to let a bill come to the floor to create ballot Prop 302 to sweep First Things First funds. If Vic voted No, we wouldn't have Prop 302 to worry about. On the floor, Vic voted against the bill. Lest that sounds brave, the bill was assured passage by 4 votes, so Vic was granted permission by his party bosses to cover his ass and vote No.

All this was discussed more-or-less well in the Star's Pueblo Politics. But Vic's biggest lie is left out of the Star story -- his assertion that he supported Science Foundation Arizona.

I'm guessing the reason for the omission is, the Star's crack research team couldn't pull together the information on this rather complex string of votes. So here's the vote chronology for the benefit of the Star and other interested readers. These are the facts as I understand them, not the speculation and innuendo the Star thinks BfA trades in.

• In January, 2009, Vic voted along with his Republican colleagues for SB1002, a budget reconciliation bill which included $22.5 million in cuts to Science Foundation.
• In June, 2009, Science Foundation's suit against the state for breach of contract is heard, and the court said the legislature had to restore $18.5 million to Science Foundation because the funds had already been committed.
• In November, 2009, Vic and just about everyone else voted for HB2003 to restore the $18.5 million to Science Foundation, based on the court order. That was Vic's one vote for Science Foundation -- when he had no choice
• In March, 2010, Vic voted in committee for HB2005, which cut $27.5 million from Science Foundation.  A few days later, he voted for HB2005 again on the House floor.

That's the part of the story the Star ignored -- by far the most damning misrepresentation in Vic's mailer. He voted to cut a total of $50 million from Science Foundation over two years, and voted to restore $18.5 million only because the court ordered the restoration.

You didn't read it in the Star, but now you've read it here. I believe my facts are accurate, but if someone spots an error, please let me know and I'll correct it. We here at BfA are partisans, but we pride ourselves on doing our research and getting our facts straight.

"Independent" groups are a GOP network

Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

NPR has an investigative report into self-styled "independent" groups that are pouring millions of corporate dollars into campaign ads. 'Independent' Groups Behind Ads Not So Independent:

It's a banner year for attack ads — and the organizations making them — partly due to the sea of cash unleashed by a Supreme Court decision [Citizens United v. FEC] early this year.

Advocacy groups have popped up all over the country, raising and spending millions of dollars — without having to name their donors. Never before has so much of the congressional election campaign been waged by groups that operate independently of the parties and candidates.

But in reality, those so-called independent groups may not be so independent after all.

Who Are They?

The groups often bear ambiguous names — Americans for Job Security, Crossroads Grassroots Policy Strategies, the 60 Plus Association. Many of them live through the generosity of anonymous donors. The ambiguity and anonymity blur the public understanding of who these groups are.

So let's start with who they say they are.

One of the biggest players is American Crossroads... [Karl Rove and Ed Gillespie].

* * *

Its sister organization, called Crossroads Grassroots Policy Strategies, or Crossroads GPS, describes itself as a "grassroots advocacy organization that is committed to educating, equipping and mobilizing millions of American citizens."

Another group, Americans for Job Security, calls itself "the only independent, bi-partisan, pro-business issue advocacy organization in America."

* * *

And then there's the 60 Plus Association, which says it's a "non-partisan seniors advocacy group."

* * *

With these advertisers and others, the same words come up again and again: Grass-roots. Nonpartisan. Independent.

Their ads seem to imply the groups are homegrown. But every single one mentioned here is based within 20 minutes of Capitol Hill. Most of them, in fact, are in just two office suites.

As for their independence: It would be illegal for them to coordinate their attacks with the candidates they're helping, or with Republican Party committees. But among themselves, they're proud of the way they synchronize their efforts.

"If one group puts an ad on television in a certain congressional district, they let everyone else know that," says Jonathan Collegio with American Crossroads. "This way they don't double up on the advertising."

What They Do

This teamwork didn't happen by accident. But it's hard to grasp just how interconnected these secret donor groups are — so it may help to take a look at this map. (full size)

 

This clearly isn't a bunch of individual, independent groups — as you can see from the map. It's one big network: a Republican campaign operation, working outside the official party.

The Other Side

This is not a new strategy. The cash flowed freely — and often in secret — two years ago. Except then it was mostly in support of Democrats.

* * *

But what Democrats developed, Republicans have mastered.

A big reason why: money. Early this year, the Supreme Court ruled that corporations could spend unlimited amounts of money in partisan politics, and Republican advocacy groups have been flush with cash ever since. At the beginning of October, they had outspent Democratic groups by a 9-1 margin.

* * *

Where did much of money come from? Well, while American Crossroads has to disclose its donors, Crossroads GPS does not. It's a legal loophole that looms larger this year than ever before, even for those that claim to be grassroots organizations.

And it's enabled Republicans to build a wide and rich campaign network outside their party.

Voters' Bill of Rights

Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

Press release from the Arizona Democratic Party:

Voters’ Bill of Rights a must at the polls

PHOENIX — Voters have the power to shape Arizona's future with this election, so it's crucial that they know their rights when heading to the polls Tuesday. The Arizona Democratic Party is providing this "Voters' Bill of Rights" as a resource for Election Day.

“Arizonans should know their rights and be able to exercise them freely at the polls, regardless of party,” said Luis Heredia, Arizona Democratic Party executive director. “They should know they have a voice in helping get Arizona back on the right track.”

Voters have the following 12 rights when going to the polls on Tuesday (also see attached information):

You have the right to:

1. Verify that you are registered to vote. Call your County Recorder to make sure there are no problems with your registration -- especially if you have recently moved, changed your name, or have not voted in recent elections. Alternately, check the Secretary of State’s website: voter.azsos.gov/VoterView

2. Vote early in person. You may vote in the office of the County Recorder or at other sites around the county, until 5 p.m. on Oct. 29. For a list of locations go to: www.raiseyourvote.com

3. Vote early by mail. You don't need a special reason to request an early ballot. The deadline for the election authority to receive your early ballot request was 5 p.m. on Oct. 22. Once you have the early ballot, your completed ballot must be in the hands of the election authority no later than 7 p.m. on Election Day. You can turn it in at any polling place in the county where you are registered to vote.

4. Vote in a safe and non-intimidating environment. No one is allowed to influence or coerce your vote.

5. Voice any complaints or concerns.

6. Vote at accessible and properly equipped polling places. All polling places should be accessible to voters with disabilities. If you are an elderly or disabled person and your polling place has been determined inaccessible, you have the right to request the “Curbside Voting” alternative voting method.

7. Request assistance at the polls if needed from the person of your choice.

8. Request voting materials or assistance at the polling place in a language other than English. If you live in Cochise, Greenlee, Maricopa, Pima, Santa Cruz, or Yuma counties, material in Spanish is available. Apache, Coconino, Gila, Graham, Maricopa, Navajo, Pima, Pinal, and Yuma counties offer material in Native American languages.

9. Vote in person on Election Day – Tuesday, Nov. 2. Polling places open at 6 a.m. and close at 7 p.m. All voters must bring one photo ID, like a driver’s license or tribal enrollment card, or at least two non-photo IDs, like a recent utility bill or other identification that has your name and address on it. Find your polling place at: pollingplaces.raiseyourvote.com

10. Ask for a new ballot.

11. Take a marked sample ballot with you into the voting booth.

12. If you are in line when polls close at 7 p.m., you can vote. All voters in line waiting to vote at 7 p.m. must be allowed to cast a ballot.

For more information contact:

Democratic National Committee Voter Protection hotline: 800-311-VOTE(8683)
Arizona Secretary of State, Bureau of Elections: 602-542-8683, 877-THE-VOTE, www.azsos.gov/election
Access County Recorder’s contact information: www.azsos.gov/election/county.htm

Federal law guarantees your right to cast a ballot even if someone says you are not eligible.  If you are qualified to vote and registered in the jurisdiction, do not leave the polling place without at least voting a provisional ballot.

 

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Tucson Weekly Endorsements: Vote Democratic!

Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

The Tucson Weekly did its election endorsements a few weeks ago, but today offers a condensed version of it election issue -- and endorses a straight Democratic ticket. God, I love it! At least one newspaper in this town gets it. Thank you. Ballot-Box Basics:

The 2010 Tucson Weekly Endorsements, Condensed, by the Tucson Weekly Editorial Board

Here’s a condensed version of the endorsements we published a few weeks back. If you’re looking for more info, you’ll find it on The Range at daily.tucsonweekly.com, where we’ve got links to all of our Election Season coverage.

U.S. Congress, District 8: Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords

Democrat Gabrielle Giffords has delivered for Southern Arizona. She has brought home federal dollars that have kept the state’s schools, hospitals and universities open. She’s brought stimulus money that has fixed streets, hired more cops and helped land jobs, such as the 500-job expansion that drug-manufacturer Roche Group announced for Oro Valley earlier this month. She’s helped fix up the fire station at Fort Huachuca, funded programs to help wounded vets get 21st-century rehabilitation services and built a domestic-violence shelter in Sierra Vista.

Her Republican opponent, Jesse Kelly, promises to do none of these things—and, in fact, criticizes Giffords for supporting them. Kelly’s platform is straight out of fantasyland. He wants a 10 percent flat tax that he himself admits has no support in Congress. He thinks individuals and not government should be “regulating” everything from the stock market to the drug industries. Last week, he said the average person can do a better job of preventing salmonella outbreaks than government inspectors can. C’mon, we’ve heard plenty of crazy stuff, but do you really believe that’s the truth?

We need a representative who is going to look out for Southern Arizona, not one who wants to destroy government because it’s too complicated for him to understand.

U.S. Congress, District 7: Congressman Raúl Grijalva

We thought Congressman Raúl Grijalva made a boneheaded move with his call for a boycott of the state in the wake of SB 1070, but he’s admitted he made a mistake. We agree with the majority of his votes and appreciate his fight against the Rosemont Mine proposal. Republican opponent Ruth McClung’s platform just isn’t our cup of tea; the more we learn about her, the more it becomes clear that she’s just another right-wing ideologue. Vote Grijalva.

U.S. Senate: No Recommendation

These are our choices? Seriously? You’re on your own with this one.

Governor: Terry Goddard

Gov. Jan Brewer is the wrong choice for innumerable reasons, but mostly because we believe Democrat Terry Goddard will do a much better job of stemming the flow of crazy that’s going to pour out of the Arizona Legislature. We stand on the edge of losing our investments in everything from state parks to the universities if someone doesn’t stop the right-wing whackos—and Democrat Terry Goddard is far more likely to do that than Brewer.

Secretary of State: Chris Deschene

Secretary of State Ken Bennett is a cut above most Republicans in the state these days, but we still give the nod to Democrat Chris Deschene, because in Arizona, the secretary of state has a habit of becoming governor, and we’re more comfortable with Deschene in that role.

Attorney General: Felecia Rotellini

We’ll take Democrat Felecia Rotellini over Republican Tom Horne, who appears a little too eager to find ways to mess with an already overstressed Tucson Unified School District.

State Treasurer: Andrei Cherny

Democrat Andrei Cherny is moderate enough to earn the endorsement of Jim Kolbe, the former Republican congressman who is chairing his campaign. We’ll take him over Republican Doug Ducey, whose trail of disgruntled former Cold Stone Creamery franchisees and unpaid taxes leaves us less than confident that he’s ready to handle the state’s books.

State Superintendent of Public Instruction: Penny Kotterman

Democrat Penny Kotterman is a longtime advocate for teachers who understands how the schools work, while Republican John Huppenthal is Republican lawmaker who has undermined public education at every opportunity. A no-brainer.

Arizona Corporation Commission: Dave Bradley

Democrat Dave Bradley has ably served Tucson for the last eight years in the Arizona Legislature, and we’re convinced he’d make a good addition to the Arizona Corporation Commission.

The Arizona Legislature: Vote the Democratic Ticket

We usually find a couple of Republicans worth supporting in legislative races, but this year, there are none.

As we’ve documented over the last year, Republicans are using the budget crisis as a way to plunder state government. They have been willing to cut our schools, eliminate health care for the sick and poor, scrap job-training and economic-development efforts, hack away at our universities and sell off our state parks. In short, if there’s something you care about that’s been built in this state over the last two decades, you can kiss it goodbye.

We understand that the state faces a financial crisis. But the real fix is to seriously reform the tax code so that it adapts to a 21st-century economy, not to shut down everything besides the schools and then give the savings away as tax cuts for the wealthiest residents. It’s time to bring some fresh thinking to the Arizona Legislature. (You’ll see that we’ve added a few names to our list since the endorsements package ran three weeks ago.)

With that in mind, we endorse:

District 25

Senate: Manny Alvarez
House: Pat Fleming and Ruben Ortega

District 26

Senate: Cheryl Cage
House: Nancy Young Wright

District 28

State Senate: Paula Aboud
State House: Steve Farley and Bruce Wheeler

District 30

State Senate: Todd Camenisch
State House: Andrea Dalessandro

Dennis Gilman video on Jan Brewer

Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

H/t Tucson Weekly New Gilman Vid on Brewer:

New video from Phoenix's Dennis Gilman on our incoherent Gov. Jan Brewer.

The Phoenix New Times named Gilman best videographer in 2009, and for good reason.

Musings on the meanings of Freedom and Security

by David Safier

Two major buzzwords the Right Wing uses regularly are "Freedoms!" and "Security!"

"They're taking away our Freedoms!"

"We need Security from terrorists and illegal aliens!"

Freedom and Security as defined by the Right are actually the two ends of a seesaw, a fact the Right refuses to acknowledge. When Freedom as they define it goes up, Security goes down. When the type of Security they talk about is increased, Freedom goes down. The way the Right gets around this problem is by making the implicit assumption that the only people who deserve "Freedoms!" and "Security!" are people like them, who gain their "Freedoms!" and "Security!" by taking them away from the "Others."

(A local emeritus professor and friend, John Schwartz, wrote a brilliant analysis of the broader meanings of the word Freedom as defined by Adam Smith, John Locke and some of the original framers of our country's system of government. You can read his ideas in a lengthy book review in the recent Washington Monthly. The ideas in the review are a condensation of his far longer and more detailed analysis that has been discussed nationally in high level progressive/liberal circles. My readings of his original paper and the recent book review are what got me thinking along the lines of this post, though I take the ideas in a somewhat different direction. If you want some genuinely intellectual political theorizing which is much deeper and far better thought out than mine, read Schwartz's piece.)

Here is the crux of that seesaw relationship between the Right's definitions of "Freedom" and "Security."

If people and businesses have a maximized right to their "Freedoms," meaning they can do whatever they want, whenever they want, that creates all kinds of threats to our personal Security. When you decrease  governmental laws and regulations on people and businesses, you increase the threat of dangerous personal behavior and shoddy business practices which those laws and regulations are created to protect us from.

More Security, on the other hand -- protection from those people who might want to harm us -- comes at the cost of our Freedom as defined by the Right, since those Freedoms must be restricted to increase our Security. If people's phones and emails can be tapped at the whim of the government in the interest of greater Security, for instance, and people can be arrested on suspicion of wrongdoing and without just cause, that's a huge threat to our Freedom.

That elusive, ideal balance of the two -- a moment when the seesaw is perfectly weighted and balanced on both sides -- creates a situation where people are granted enough freedom that they don't feel overly hemmed in by governmental restraints while at the same time they feel a reasonable sense of personal security. The Right, however, doesn't acknowledge the need for a balance. They maintain you can maximize both.

The Right manages to reconcile the contradictions in its call for absolute "Freedoms!"and "Security!" by defining the terms in very limited ways. "Freedoms!" means, those people the Right agrees with get to do whatever they want, while the Others -- the political, ethnic and religious Others -- can have their rights stomped on if they say or do anything the Right disagrees with. "Security!" means protecting the "right thinking people" from threats by the Others -- the same Others who don't deserve the "Freedoms!" the Right lays claim to. In other words, the Right is granted maximum "Freedoms!" and "Security!" by depriving the Others of their freedom and security.

In the Right's definitions, "Security!" doesn't include government programs like welfare, unemployment insurance and health care. It restricts the definition of the term "Security" to protection from the "Bad Guys," who in the Right's world are primarily terrorists, immigrants and members of various other ethnic groups who might do them harm.

By limiting Security to protection from the "Bad Guys," the Right ignores the hugely important concept of economic security. If someone has no job and no access to food, shelter or health care, for that person, protection from the unlikely threat of personal danger from the "Bad Guys" gives little comfort. And when someone without access to the necessities of life has a family to look after, the genuine sense of insecurity increases exponentially.

There's a reason FDR labeled his program Social "Security." There's a reason why Reagan, when he began dismantling FDR's legacy, said he wouldn't cut a hole in the "Safety" Net. Essential components of a person and a family's Security and Safety are food security (Have you noticed that "hunger" has recently been re-labeled "food insecurity"?), shelter security and health security. Take a family's food from its table, drive it away from the roof over its head and eliminate the guarantee that family members can see a doctor when they're sick, and you have robbed them of a sense of security far more basic than concern over some distant threat that some "Other" might attack them physically.

In this broader view of the idea of Security, Security and Freedom actually work together rather than sitting at opposite ends of a seesaw. If the government's social programs -- its safety net -- means a person will not fear homelessness, starvation and the inability to get medical care, that person is free to make choices. For instance, someone may feel the freedom to leave a dead end job and risk starting a business or going into a new field, both of which may benefit that person's happiness and income. The freedom to explore and innovate can have enormous benefits for the country as well as for the individual. Or if someone loses a job, economic security provided by the government can free that person from paralyzing fear and allow him/her to search for new job opportunities without accepting the first bad job that comes along, and conduct that search with the kind of positive spirit that is attractive to employers.

Democrats have ceded the words Freedom and Security to the Right. There must be some way of reclaiming an expanded version of those words which echo Democratic principles, substituting hope and opportunity for the Right's use of the words to promote fear and division. How we do that, I don't know, but it should be  part of our strategy for regaining the support of those who are near the bottom of the economic ladder who benefit most from our underlying personal and economic philosophy.

UPDATE: Sen. Russell Pearce makes bogus voter fraud claims in voter suppression effort

Posted by AzBlueMeanie

H/t to Jaime for the heads up. Thanks.

Secretary of State Ken Bennett also says that Arizona's fear-monger-in-chief Sen. Russell Pearce is full of crap. News Room:

Secretary of State Ken Bennett sets the record straight on voter-registration fraud

Office watching issue closely, but confident that Internet rumors are without merit

PHOENIX – Like most Arizonans, Secretary of State Ken Bennett is concerned any time allegations of voter fraud are raised.

So his interest was piqued in recent days when rumors began to circulate in the blogosphere and via e-mail regarding the possibility that a large number of fraudulent voter registrations had been filed by a handful of activist groups, especially in Yuma County. Bennett and his staff conferred with Yuma County Recorder Robyn Stallworth Pouquette, as well as elections officials across Arizona. They ran down the numbers. The simple truth is that state and local inquiries have been unable to verify or substantiate these allegations of systematic or widespread voter-registration fraud.

Statement from Secretary Bennett:

“As Arizona 's chief elections official, I take seriously any allegations of fraud in our election process. As soon as these accusations came to light, we got in contact with elections officials in Yuma County and across Arizona to determine if a fraudulent scheme was afoot. With our initial inquiry complete, I'm happy to report that these latest allegations of rampant registration fraud are without merit.

“Why make our findings public? Because the truth matters. Unfounded rumors and undue allegations only serve to weaken public faith in our elections, which are one of the underpinnings of our representative democracy.

“ Arizona voters can trust that we're watching for instances of fraud in the registration of voters and casting of ballots. As we did earlier this year when allegations were made in the border town of San Luis , our office won't hesitate to launch an investigation and dispatch resources to observe local election activities.

* * *

 Rumors and Reality

Rumor: Activist groups Mi Familia Vota and One Vote Arizona filed 3,000 voter-registration forms with Yuma County in recent days.

Reality: Arizona's voter-registration deadline for the General Election passed on Oct. 4. Last week, groups like Mi Familia Vota did submit in Yuma County a few thousand applications for the state's Permanent Early Voter List, which qualifies voters to receive an early ballot. About 45% of those requests were rejected, in most cases because the applicant was already on the early-ballot list. No voters will receive more than one ballot. Oct. 22 was the deadline to request an early ballot for the General Election.

Rumor: As much as 65% of the last-minute voter-registration forms submitted by Mi Familia Vota and One Vote Arizona were deemed invalid by Yuma County .

Reality: In the 10 days leading up to the Oct. 4 registration deadline, Yuma County received 822 applications for voter registration. Of those, 84 were rejected.

Rumor: Other counties across Arizona , including Maricopa and Pima, have also been the target in recent weeks of systematic voter-registration fraud by Mi Familia Vota, One Vote Arizona and other groups.

Reality: No elections officials in Arizona 's 15 counties are reporting an inordinate number of invalid registration forms, nor a coordinated attempt to circumvent the state's voter-registration laws.

Between the end of July and Oct. 4, the deadlines to register for the Primary and General Elections, Pima County processed 29,192 valid registration forms. An additional 762 were rejected because they were incomplete or failed to prove citizenship. The bulk of the rejected forms were submitted by University of Arizona students who failed to include all necessary information, including a driver's license number and signature. Mi Familia Vota submitted just over 100 registration forms in Pima County, and a handful was deemed invalid.

During the 10 days leading up to the Oct. 4 deadline, Maricopa County received 6,129 voter-registration forms from Mi Familia Vota and similar groups. Of those forms, 1,417 were rejected.

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President Obama on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart

Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

Part 1

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart	Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c
Barack Obama Pt. 1
www.thedailyshow.com
Daily Show Full Episodes Political Humor Rally to Restore Sanity

Part 2

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart	Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c
Barack Obama Pt. 2
www.thedailyshow.com
Daily Show Full Episodes Political Humor Rally to Restore Sanity

Part 3

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart	Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c
Barack Obama Pt. 3
www.thedailyshow.com
Daily Show Full Episodes Political Humor Rally to Restore Sanity

"If the Tea Party wins, America loses"

Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

"Fanaticism and ignorance is forever busy, and needs feeding. And soon, your Honor, with banners flying and with drums beating we'll be marching backward, backward through the glorious ages of that 16th century when bigots burned  the man who dared bring enlightenment and intelligence to the human mind!" - Spencer Tracy as Col. Harry Drummond in "Inherit The Wind."

Keith Olbermann in a Special Comment made the closing argument to the jury as to why the Tea-Publicans are a backwards looking lot who are a threat to the long-cherished traditions and values of our democratic Republic and a threat to the future of this country.

Transcript Olbermann: If the Tea Party wins, America loses (excerpt):

You are willing to let these people run this country? This is the America you want? This is the America you are willing to permit? These are the kinds of cranks, menaces, mercenaries and authoritarians you will turn this country over to?

If you sit there next Tuesday and let this happen, whose fault will that be? Not really theirs. They are taught that freedom is to be seized and rationed. They can sleep at night having advanced themselves and their puppeteers and to hell with everybody else.

They see the greatness of America not in its people but in its corporations. They see the success of America not in hard work but in business swindles. They see the worthiness of America not in its quality of life but in its quality of investing. They see the future of America not in progress, but in revolution to establish a theocracy for white males, with dissent caged and individuality suppressed.

They see America not for what is, nor what it can be. They see delusions, specters, fantasies; they see communists under every bed and a gun in every hand. They see tax breaks for the rich and delayed retirement for everyone else. They fight the redistribution of wealth not because they oppose redistribution, but because their sole purpose is to protect wealth and keep it where they think it belongs - in the bank accounts of the wealthy.

They want to make the world safe for Bernie Madoff. But you know better. If you sit there next Tuesday - if you sit there tomorrow, and the rest of this week - and you let this cataclysm unfold, you have enabled this.

It is one thing to be attacked by those who would destroy America from without. It is a worse thing to be attacked by those who would destroy America from within.

But it is the worst thing to sit back and let it happen, to not find the time and the means to convince just one other sane voter to put aside the disappointment of the last two years and look to the future and vote.  Because the disappointment of the last two years will be the "good old days" in a Tea Party America.

This is the week in which the Three Card Monte dealers hope to take over the government —the candidates who want their own way, who will say anything to make palatable their real identities as agents of regression, repression, and corporate sovereignty. They are here, they have energized the self-serving and the greedy and the proudly ill-informed.

The commentary ends with the words of Nedrick Young and Harold Jacob Smith from the screenplay for the movie "Inherit The Wind."

The angered judge replies, "I hope counsel does not mean to imply that this court is bigoted." The attorney mutters, "Well, your honor has the right to hope." The Judge warns, "I have the right to do more than that." The attorney explodes: "You have the power to do more than that."

And YOU have the power to do more than that.

NPR on SB1070 and the private prison industry

by David Safier

NPR is a little late to the party on this one, but it looks like they've done some serious new research on the connections between private prisons and the creation of SB1070.

Here's the money quote.

[W]hile the debate [over SB1070] raged, few people were aware of how the law came about.

NPR spent the past several months analyzing hundreds of pages of campaign finance reports, lobbying documents and corporate records. What they show is a quiet, behind-the-scenes effort to help draft and pass Arizona Senate Bill 1070 by an industry that stands to benefit from it: the private prison industry.

The law could send hundreds of thousands of illegal immigrants to prison in a way never done before. And it could mean hundreds of millions of dollars in profits to private prison companies responsible for housing them.

Money to be made on locking up immigrants? Who would have guessed? (Answer: Morgan Loew at KVOA who probably did the best, most groundbreaking work; Blog for Arizona; Rachel Maddow [who was tipped to the story by BfA when her exec producer was in Tucson]; and others.)

NPR describes the genesis of the bill at a meeting of the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC).

It's a membership organization of state legislators and powerful corporations and associations, such as the tobacco company Reynolds American Inc., ExxonMobil and the National Rifle Association. Another member is the billion-dollar Corrections Corporation of America — the largest private prison company in the country.

And the private prison corporations understand the cash cow they've created.

According to Corrections Corporation of America reports reviewed by NPR, executives believe immigrant detention is their next big market. Last year, they wrote that they expect to bring in "a significant portion of our revenues" from Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the agency that detains illegal immigrants.

This is new, and very important information. There's nothing illegal here, but it demonstrates the Russell Pearce/corporation/Brewer-and-her-lobbyist-advisors confluence. Here's a chart from the story.

 

 

UPDATE: McCain violates McCain-Feingold - IOKIYAR

Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

We told you back on October 20th that McCain violates McCain-Feingold by paying for ads for congressional candidate Ruth McClung:

The DCCC has filed a complaint with the Federal Election Commission, because two out of three laws seem to have been broken here:

• If this was coordinated with the McClung and Kelly campaigns, then McCain violated the contribution limits in terms of what he can provide as an in-kind contribution to McClung's campaign; or
• If it was a truly independent expenditure, not in any way coordinated with the recipient campaigns, then McCain has failed to report these independent expenditures to the FEC, which in turn would require McCain to certify, under penalty of perjury, "as to whether such expenditure was made in cooperation, consultation, or concert with, or at the request or suggestion of a candidate;" and
• Federal law is absolutely explicit* that McCain's campaign committee is only allowed to support one candidate: himself.

When Democrats complained that John McCain's Senate campaign was illegally spending its money to back Raul Grijalva's opponent Ruth McClung, McCain whipped out docs showing he had filed with the FEC to make the independent expenditure. The Arizona McMedia simply took his word for it without looking into the campaign finance laws implicated. "Okey-dokey Johnny, whatever you say!," and they killed the story.

Well, not so fast. Some real reporters at the Huffington Post bothered to inquire into the campaign finance laws implicated and come to a different conclusion. HUFFPOST HILL - OCTOBER 27TH, 2010:

EXCLUSIVE: MCCAIN FLAGRANTLY BREAKING HIS OWN LAW - When Democrats complained that John McCain's Senate campaign was illegally spending its money to back Raul Grijalva's opponent Ruth McClung, McCain whipped out docs showing he had filed with the FEC to make the independent expenditure. But that means he can't coordinate with the McClung campaign. HuffPost Hill snagged an email from the McClung camp to activists urging them to come into the McClung headquarters to do phone banking. The contact they give is a McCain staffer, Mike Sistak. It'd be difficult to define coordination any more clearly than that. Andrew Herman, a top election law attorney, calls the flagrant coordination "absurd" and "ridiculous." "It's certainly not within the letter and spirit of the law that bears the name of Mr. McCain," he said. 

(McClung's camp says they're paying for half the costs of the office and that the staffer was listed as a matter of convenience to activists.)

As always, here in Arizona IOKIYAR. The McMedia is John McCain's base.

* 2 USC Sec. 432. Organization of political committees.

Tom Horne Anti-Free Speech Suit Rejected

Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

Press release from the Felecia Rotellini campaign:

Horne Anti-Free Speech Suit Rejected
Judge throws out attempt by Horne to silence critics   

PHOENIX – Today, another attempted injunction against free speech by Tom Horne was denied by a Maricopa County Superior Court judge.

Judge Linda H. Miles threw out a lawsuit Horne filed against a group that exposed his disturbing record, including votes against student safety in the classroom and tougher statutory rape penalties. This is the second time this election that a judge has shut down Tom Horne’s attempts to stifle his opposition, and mirrors a complaint Horne filed against another group that was also trying to expose the truth about him. Both suits had the same result: dismissal.

Horne sued in a desperate bid to silence the Committee for Justice and Fairness, which has brought to light decisions of Horne’s that show his true character, including allowing a teacher who was fired for viewing pornography in school back into the classroom.  

In her ruling, Judge Miles wrote: “Even assuming, without deciding, that a violation occurred, the remedy sought by Horne is not available.” She went on to write that the Arizona Supreme Court has rejected injunctions against First Amendment rights as an acceptable remedy to the kind of complaint Horne made.

Horne’s outrageous behavior is particularly egregious in light of the fact that he filed the suit knowing it would be rejected, as his other lawsuit was only months before. Instead of explaining his record, Horne instead elected to waste the court’s time and the taxpayers’ money to muzzle free speech.  

“Tom Horne’s pointless and political lawsuit is a perfect example of his attitude toward the law - use it as a weapon when it benefits him, and ignore it when he wants, as evidenced by his decades long pattern of rule breaking,” said Attorney General candidate Felecia Rotellini. “Tom Horne’s abuse of the legal system is exactly why Arizonans cannot trust him as their attorney. This is how we can expect Tom Horne to use his power if he becomes Attorney General: to silence his critics and advance his personal agenda.”

###

Press release from the Arizona Democratic Party:

Is Horne too thin-skinned to be top cop?

Republican candidate loses frivolous lawsuit over TV ad

 

PHOENIX – Tom Horne is showing Arizona voters exactly what kind of attorney general he would be. First, he whined about a TV ad about him. Then, he filed a frivolous lawsuit against the ad. And today, he lost in court.

The ad highlighted Horne’s "yes" vote to allow the state Board of Education to reinstate a Queen Creek teacher who had been fired after admitting he looked at pornographic Web sites in the classroom. That's right, Horne voted "yes." [East Valley Tribune, 5/22/06]

But Horne's losing lawsuit wasn't just about suppressing free speech -- it was about suppressing facts. Arizona voters, after all, might not want to elect an attorney general who lacks a strong view of law and order and refuses to hold people accountable.

"With something like this on his record, it's no wonder Horne was desperate to stop the TV ad," said Luis Heredia, Arizona Democratic Party executive director. "But Horne went to Harvard Law -- he should've learned about the First Amendment a long time ago."

Now that his lawsuit is over, Horne owes it to voters to address the topics in the TV ad. Why is he making excuses for his support of reinstating the high school teacher? The teacher himself admitted to viewing porn in class.

Doesn't a confession count for anything, Mr. Horne? It should, for someone who wants to be Arizona’s top law enforcement officer.

*Learn more about the AZ GOP "Slippery Slate."

###

The most fortunate man in America: One violent teabagger

by Craig McDermott, crossposted from Random Musings

A video of a violent assault of a MoveOn.org member at a Rand Paul event has been going viral on the internet and cable news.

That video -




Turns out that the three most important factors in politically-motivated violence are the same as in the real estate business - location, location, location.

The perp is fortunate tonight - in Kentucky, he faces only misdemeanor charges.

In Massachusetts (where I was born and grew up), a shod foot (what the Paul supporter used on the head of the woman as she lay pinned to the ground) is considered a "dangerous" weapon under the law, and assault and battery with a dangerous weapon (ABDW) is a felony that could earn the perp upwards of a decade in state prison.

Of course, that may be a better option for the attacker and his ilk than in Arizona - we've got some of the weakest-ass laws in existence regarding the application of deadly force in self-defense of the defense of another, thanks to Russell Pearce.

One of the attacker's fellow tea party types. God I love the irony there...

Basically, under Arizona law, you can shoot your neighbor for sneezing. (Yeah, that's a bit of hyperbole.  But only a bit.  Read the statutes.)

And to top it off, the perp, a (now-former) county coordinator for the Rand Paul campaign named Tim Profitt, is now demanding an apology from the woman he assaulted.

For what, daring to soil the bottom of his shoe with her scalp?

 

 

New Raúl Grijalva ad - "Worst Crisis"

Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

New ad from the Raúl Grijalva for Congress campaign:

Todd Camenisch files campaign finance complaint against Frank Antenori

Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

Press release from the Todd Camenisch for Senate campaign (LD 30):

Camenisch: Antenori complaint shows ‘fat cat’ influence

Arizona Secretary of State Ken Bennett and State Elections Director Amy Bjelland have been asked to immediately investigate state Sen. Frank Antenori (R) for allegedly violating campaign laws.

The complaint stems from the Oct. 15 broadcast of the conservative Jon Justice Show on Tucson radio station KQTH-104.1 FM, “The Truth,” which is owned by Journal Broadcasting.

“Mr. Antenori has violated the prohibition on corporate contribution by hosting a two-hour radio show without paying for the air time, thereby receiving an in-kind contribution from the radio station,” according to the complaint, which was filed Tuesday afternoon. “Under A.R.S. § 16-919(A), a candidate campaign committee cannot ‘accept any contribution of money or anything of value from a corporation or a limited liability company for the purpose of influencing an election.’”

Since the election is less than a week away, the complaint asks for an immediate investigation.

“This is an example of big media trying to control the electoral process with excessive influence,” said Todd Camenisch, whose all-volunteer grass-roots campaign for the Legislative District 30 Senate seat refused to accept money from declared lobbyists and large corporations.

“This is also typical of the way politicians like my opponent get bought and sold by fat cats and big corporations that care more about tax loopholes than schools for our kids,” Camenisch said.

“Campaign finance violations are an issue that should be taken very seriously,” Camenisch said. “The ugly truth about Frank Antenori and the state Legislature is that they have been bought and sold by large out-of-state corporations. This needs to stop.”

If proven, Antenori would be guilty of a Class 6 felony. In Arizona, conviction of a felony suspends the right to vote, hold office, sit on a jury and own firearms. Ariz. Const. art. VII § 2(C); ARS §§ 13-904(A)(1), 16-101(A)(5); 21-201(3).

“Throughout the two hours … Mr. Antenori promoted his campaign, espoused his political beliefs, and disparaged Democratic candidates and elected officials,” the complaint says. “At the end of the two-hour program, Mr. Antenori announced a campaign fund-raising event in Green Valley and asked listeners to attend the fundraiser and to vote for him.

“This kind of express advocacy must be paid for by the campaign, include proper disclaimers pursuant to A.R.S. § 16-912, and be reported by Mr. Antenori on his campaign finance reports,” the complaint says. “By failing to do so, Mr. Antenori violated several campaign finance laws and should be held accountable, including a fine of three times the value of the radio air time pursuant to A.R.S. § 16-912(E).”

The station’s programming director, Ryan McCredden, confirmed that Antenori hosted the show as a favor to Justice and his campaign didn’t pay for a two-hour infomercial. Podcasts of Antenori’s show are posted online at http://www.1041thetruth.com/podcast/justiceondemand. On the show, Antenori says he has “volunteered to fill in” for Justice. Antenori also repeatedly identifies himself as “State Senator Frank Antenori” throughout the program.

Camenisch is available for interviews.

###

Republican endorsements for AZ Dems keep rolling in

by David Safier

The latest I-may-be-a-Republican-but-I-can't-vote-for-these-scoundrels endorsement is from Scottsdale Republican Senator Carolyn Allen who is supporting Penny Kotterman:

Now more than ever, during the difficult and challenging time Arizona now faces, a candidate has stepped forward with the skill set and on-the-ground experience teaching in classrooms in the Arizona public education system.  That candidate is Penny Kotterman.  Penny Kotterman is a natural choice for Arizona and I want to raise my voice in support for her campaign.

Allen, as a State Senator, knows John Huppenthal well. Her Kotterman endorsement kinda makes you think, doesn't it?

According to Kotterman's email,

In addition to Allen, Kotterman also has the support of former State Representatives Susan Gerard, Becky Jordan and Robbie Shaw, as well as Michael Racy of Racy Associates in Tucson, Tim Riester of Riester Public Affairs, and Republican activist Roselyn O'Connell.

Jim Kolbe is campaign chair for Andre Cherny.

Former Republican Attorney General Grant Woods has endorsed Democrat Felicia Rotellini.

In southern Arizona, Pete Hershberger joined Jennifer Burns and other Republicans to support Giffords. Hershberger has also endorsed Nancy Young Wright and Cheryl Cage, bypassing all three LD-26 Republicans.

Most recently Republican John Schaefer, former UA President, wrote a letter of endorsement for Wright:

As a former University of Arizona president, and active participant in our region’s technology-related economic development, I am impressed with Nancy's understanding of the relationship between investing in education and regional economic prosperity.  Nancy gets it.

Southern Arizona needs Nancy Young Wright representing us in the State Legislature. Please vote for Nancy and help spread the word.

Schaefer has also endorsed Cage, and between the two LD-26 Ds, they have at least a half dozen other endorsements from prominent Rs.

How will all this play out on November 2? I have no idea. But I do know, the moderate Rs are beginning to speak out. The Tea Partiers like to say they want their country back. I think those who the current Arizona Republican establishment have labeled RINOs are thinking, they want their party back.

Quayle Hunt: Jon Hulburd ad - The Rise of Phoenix

Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

The Jon Hulburd for Congress campaign has a new ad on the air.

Sheriff Joe Arpaio makes bogus voter fraud claims in voter suppression effort

Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

Several people have sent me the e-mail below from Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio. (I have disengaged any links so as not to aid and abet this abuse of law).

If they have not already done so, I recommend that the lawyers for the Arizona Democratic Party, voting rights and election protection groups contact the Office of the U.S. Attorney for Arizona and the Voting Rights Section of the U.S. Department of Justice to alert them to this e-mail from ostensibly the chief law enforcement officer of Maricopa County.

Keep in mind that the Maricopa County Sheriff's Department is responsible for the security of polling locations and will respond to any incidents involving voters, poll workers and poll observers at polling locations on Election Day.

The Maricopa County Sheriff's Department is also responsible for the secure transportation of the ballots, and in past elections, the storage of ballots at facilities under the control of the Sheriff's Department.

The e-mail below I believe crosses the line into violations of regulations adopted pursuant to the Voting Rights Act of 1965 prohibiting voter intimidation and voter suppression. When the Maricopa County Sheriff''s Department gives color of law to Sheriff Arpaio's BAN AMNESTY NOW "voter fraud prevention volunteers" (only recognized political parties may have poll observers inside polling locations pursuant to Arizona law) there is a serious problem here. This merits intervention and supervision by the U.S. Department of Justice of the election related activities of the Maricopa County Sheriff's Department.

Sheriff Arpaio's partisan political activities places a cloud over the fairness and impartiality of elections in Maricopa County, and can reasonably be construed as intimidation of Hispanic voters to suppress their vote. The U.S. Department of Justice has a jurisdictional obligation to oversee elections in Arizona to prevent voter intimidation and voter suppression, and to ensure public confidence in the fairness and impartiality of elections under the Voting Rights Act of 1965. This matter should be taken seriously.

Here is the vile e-mail sent by Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio:

6 Days to STOP Illegals from
Stealing the Election!

Dear Friends,

I’m writing today because there is just one week to go in this year’s historic elections, and I need your help to make sure that America’s elections are just that… for Americans!

FACT: Thousands of illegal aliens have already organized and taken to the streets, campaigning in some of the closest Senate and House races in the nation to turn out votes and voters for pro-amnesty, open borders candidates!

STOP ILLEGALS FROM STEALING THE ELECTION!

FACT: “The illegal registration of alien voters has become pervasive,” says Kris Kobach, the attorney who helped Arizona write SB1070. The problem exists across the nation, bolstered by open-borders criminals determined to undermine our elections, including the unions, La Raza… even the White House.

STOP ILLEGALS FROM STEALING THE ELECTION!

FACT: The conspiracy between U.S. President Barack Obama and Mexican President Felipe Calderon goes far beyond the two joining forces in their lawsuit against Arizona’s SB1070, anti-illegal immigration legislation. Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer put it right when she explained the Obama-Calderon conspiracy the media recently:

“The Mexican government does not want our borders secure…They have made it very, very clear… Calderon believes that he is helping out the [Obama] administration and they are looking at it in a political mode to bring in newly registered illegal immigrants to register to vote.”

STOP ILLEGALS FROM STEALING THE ELECTION!

FACT: The same pro-amnesty criminals working in states like Washington to turn out pro-amnesty voters have been working to register illegal voters all over the nation! In one Arizona congressional district, more than 65% of the 3,000+ new voters registrations submitted by Mi Familia Vota and One Arizona were found to be invalid – many of them to non-citizens.

Nothing is more important in protecting the United States today than protecting the sanctity of our votes. Sadly, we are not just fighting criminals from other nations. We are fighting our own president and very determined individuals in America who want to disenfranchise U.S. Citizens of their votes.

At BANAMNESTYNOW.COM we aren’t going to let them. Our grassroots army of VOTER FRAUD PREVENTION VOLUNTEERS will stand vigilant across the nation. We will be the first and strongest line of defense to ensure that only legal citizens vote on November 2nd, but to do this, we need your help today!

* * *

November 2, 2010 is one week from today and we have a tremendous job ahead of us that we can’t accomplish without you!

Together we have already stopped Obama’s “Dream Act” nightmare! Together we’ve already stopped La Raza and the White House from punishing Arizona by trying to move baseball’s 2011 All-Star Game from Phoenix. Together we’ve added hundreds of thousands of new voices to the MAJORITY of Americans who support secure borders and oppose amnesty for illegal aliens.

…and together we’ll stand strong and protect American elections wherever we can!

But “together” starts with you, today. So please join me today and help me STOP ILLEGALS FROM STEALING THIS ELECTION!

Thomas Jefferson reminds us “The price of liberty is eternal vigilance.” America needs us now, more than ever, to do our part, to stand up for our nation, to defend her against those who would sacrifice her for mere political partisanship.

Thank you in advance for your contribution ... And thank you to all who have registered to volunteer on Election Day!

For America, your friend,

SHERIFF JOE ARPAIO

Hon. Co-Chairman, BANAMNESTYNOW.COM

UPDATE: Talkingpointsmemo.com has this story as well. Sheriff Joe Joins Anti-Voter Fraud Crusade | TPMMuckraker:

Lydia Guzman, director of the nonprofit immigrant advocacy group Respect/Respeto, told TPMMuckraker that Arpaio's e-mail was inappropriate because his office would handle many elections-related activities.

"When this Sheriff sends out e-mails like the one he sent out, it poses a problem," Guzman said. "He should not be the person to enforce or oversee the protection of the election because he's the one who is going to be disenfranchising the electorate."

Sen. Russell Pearce makes bogus voter fraud claims in voter suppression effort

Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

Since the passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, the GOP has annually engaged in voter suppression efforts built around exaggerated claims of "voter fraud" by minorities, felons and illegal aliens. Michael Bryan has been posting articles about this on his twitter feed and Mike's AZ Political News Clips.

As I have told you about previously, the GOP has been under a consent decree for many years not to engage in voter suppression, A primer on GOP voter suppression: voter caging, so the GOP gets around this court order by farming out voter suppression operations to independent groups like the Republican National Lawyers Association, GOP Lawyers Group Warns Newsmax Of 'Epidemic' Voter Fraud and, of course, the GOP's propaganda network of FAUX News. Michelle Malkin: 'We Are All Voter Fraud Police Now'. Corporate lobbyist sponsored (FreedomWorks)Tea Party groups are also getting into the voter suppression efforts this year.

Here in Arizona, our nativist racist fear-monger-in-chief Sen. Russell Pearce is the leader of the GOP voter suppression efforts. Writing in the American Post-Gazette, distributed by Common Sense and posted at the right-wing blog  Sonoran Alliance (I also received a copy of his e-mail),  Sen. Pearce alleges Massive voter fraud in Arizona and Colorado:

There has been an accusation that 65% of 5000 voter registration forms, submitted by Mi Familia Vota and One Vote Arizona, in Yuma County on the last day of filling are invalid due to the registrant not being a citizen, wrong/invalid address, false signature, etc.  I also understand that these 2 groups have signed up 20,000 states wide and they have requested that 45,000 be put on the permanent early ballot. If 65% of these last minute registration forms in Yuma are invalid, which may be more as they are still checking the rest, then what is the percentages of invalid in Maricopa, Pima and other counties.
 
This is a very serious accusation that needs to be investigated to the fullest extent of the law. If this accusation is true then the perpetrators of this hideous crime against America citizens should be prosecuted to full extent of the law by Arizona Courts and not the federal courts as they do nothing on voter fraud and voter intimidation. All participants should be locked up and the key thrown away. This is an attack against sovereignty of this state and our freedoms for a socialist agenda.

* * *

They will stop at nothing to steal our elections and it appears that the friends of Raul Grijalva are doing everything they can to keep Ruth McClung, Janet Contreras and David Schweikert from getting elected. ACORN & SEIU are doing everything they can to find loop holes in our laws to use illegal’s and dead people to vote for their socialist, Anti-American agenda incumbents.
  
Yesterday a Colorado judge threw out 6000 bogus voter registration forms submitted by the same SEIU off shoot Mi Familia Vota here in Arizona.
 
I am going to pursue this matter, the State Legislator has full investigative powers and I will not let this rest.  I will be pursuing for a full investigation and if violations are found, I will push for aggressive prosecution with jail time imposed.

The Yuma County Recorder says our fear-monger-in-chief is full of crap. Election official: Claims of voter registration fraud not true:

The Yuma County Recorder's Office says it has processed a large number of requests to be put on the permanent early voter list but claims of fraudulent voter registration is not an issue in Yuma County, despite reports in the blogosphere.

On Oct. 20, The Yuma Sun reported that representatives with two organizations, Mi Familia Vota and One Arizona, registered 3,000 eligible Hispanic voters for permanent early voting ballots.

This apparently led to claims on the Internet that there were groups fraudulently “registering” voters here, and Yuma County Recorder Robyn Stallworth Pouquette said Monday that is not true.

Enrolling voters on the permanent early voting ballot list is different than registering people to vote, she said.

* * *

“During this election cycle, the Recorder's Office has processed over 14,000 PEVL requests, and over 8,000 eligible voters have been added to the PEVL in Yuma County,” she said. “The remaining requests were reviewed and rejected, under Arizona law, either due to the fact the request was a duplicate or the requestor was not eligible to vote in this election or within the jurisdiction.”

The recorder has maintained checks and to maintain the integrity of every election conducted in Yuma County and staff is working overtime so that every request received is properly processed according to Arizona law,” she said.

After some reports of the perceived voter fraud hit the Internet over the weekend, one local group of residents held a protest Monday evening on the corner of 24th Street and 4th Avenue. One report of “voter registration” came from a blog called Publius Pundit; it was also circulated on other websites [e.g., Sonoran Alliance].

(Maybe the Arizona Daily Star should report about this "speculation and innuendo" that leads to actual voter intimidation and suppression? Oh right, IOKIYAR).

Sen. John McCain - a "broken" record since 1989

Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

The Daily Show is in Washington, D.C. this week in preparation for its Rally to Restore Sanity on Saturday.

In this segment, Jon Stewart talks about this campaign season and "all those new people and the guy whose been in Washington forever" (John McCain) talking about how "the system is broken" in Washington.

Stewart mocked McCain: "Luckily I was there when we originally bought it. And I kept the receipt!"

Stewart added, this kind of talk "sounds awfully familiar coming from" McCain, so he showed a montage of McCain talking about the "broken system," from 2010 back to 1989. (around 5:40 mark).

"John McCain has always worked here and he always will. He is the caretaker from The Shining. Noooo!"

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart	Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c
Indecision 2010 - Extreme Makeover DC Edition
www.thedailyshow.com
Daily Show Full Episodes Political Humor Rally to Restore Sanity

CD 8 congressional debate in Sierra Vista

Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

The Sierra Vista Herald has posted video of the CD 8 congressional debate in Sierra Vista last week to YouTube. It is in 9 segments, so I will provide the link to the page. Giffords v. Kelly Debate by svherald.

Sierra Vista Herald endorsements: Patricia Fleming (LD 25) and Andrea Dalessandro (LD 30)

Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

The Sierra Vista Herald makes two endorsements in House races today in Legislative Districts 25 and 30. Our View: Fleming, Dalessandro for House:

In the Legislative District 25 race, four people are seeking two seats.

Of the four, Democrat incumbent Pat Fleming is head and shoulders above the others.

During her first term, voters around District 25 have seen Sierra Vistan Fleming involved and working for her constituents. She has traveled around her district seeking input from residents about the difficult issues facing our state.

She routinely interacts with residents and returns e-mails and calls. She has participated actively in the election forums held in the district.

Her record in the legislature has included authoring a bill to allow Arizona veterans to qualify immediately for in-state tuition to attend universities and colleges. Her thoughts on the tough economic  times are colored by her years as a budget analyst on Fort Huachuca. She wants to keep the funding of education and public safety, but also to cut wasteful spending and to examine the current tax code to end some exemptions.

Despite the wide diversity of issues represented in the district, voters do want a “representative” who listens to them and what they have to say.

Pat Fleming fills the bill.

 ***

In Legislative District 30, Democrat Andrea Dalessandro, a retired tax accountant and mathematics teacher, ran an unsuccessful race to get elected in 2008. But she is a fresh face who has received the endorsement of the Sierra Vista Area Chamber of Commerce.

***

Dalessandro has attended the forums, made herself visible and has been responsive to her prospective constituents.

We would not call her a strict party-line person; her rural Sahaurita area residency may have something to do with that.

Dalessandro disagrees with many of the budget-related decisions made this past year.

On the other hand, she talks strongly in terms of wanting the state to be proactive when it comes to illegal immigration, including stronger employer checks and criminal penalties for those involved in drop houses.

In talking with her, we think she would act in our local, rural best interests.

LD 27 selects nominees to succeed Sen. Jorge Luis Garcia

Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

Press release from the Arizona Democratic Party:

3 nominees announced for consideration
to fill seat of late Sen. Jorge Luis Garcia

TUCSON -- On Monday night, 39 precinct committeepersons of the Arizona Democratic Party convened for a Legislative District 27 meeting in Tucson for the purposes of nominating replacements to fill the seat left vacant by the untimely death of state Sen. Jorge Luis Garcia.

Three nominees were affirmed by acclimation (uncontested). They are as follows:

--Maria De La Luz Garcia (Sen. Garcia's wife) of El Mirage
--Robert Gilby of Tucson
--Sami Hamed of Tucson

The names of these nominees were submitted today to the Pima County Board of Supervisors by Don Bivens, Arizona Democratic Party chair. The Board of Supervisors will choose the replacement from among the three names submitted. That appointee will be sworn into office and serve the remainder of the term until January.

###

Turns out that Russell Pearce is far more well-rounded than I gave him credit for...

by Craig McDermott, crossposted from Random Musings

...I thought he was just a thoroughgoing bigot, but according to someone who knows him better than I do, he is also petty, vindictive, and prone to violence.

Earlier, I put up a post that covered State Sen. Russell Pearce's (R-National Alliance) attempts to interject himself into a legal conflict between the Tohono O'odham nation and the City of Glendale over a proposed tribal casino on the edge of Glendale.

At that time, I speculated that Pearce's interest in the situation stemmed from a basic dislike of Native Americans (they may be "Natives," but they aren't "natives," ya know what I mean?), but thanks to Greg Patterson at Espresso Pundit, I humbly stand corrected.

From Patterson's post on (roughly) the same topic (he started off talking about an anti-Prop 302 mailer) -

...But that's only one reason why Legislators like Pearce are ticked off. Look who else sponsored the mailer...that's right, the tribes. If you are new to the legislative process, you may ask yourself what the Tohono O'odam's opposition to Prop 302 has to do with the Tohono O'odam casino in Glendale? The answer is that it has everything to do with it. Everything in the Legisature is connected. That means that if the Legislature creates Prop 302 in order to avoid steep cuts in services and the Tohono O'odam use Indian Gaming money to kill that Proposition, then the Legislature is likely to go after the Tohono O'dam's casino.

Seriously, did you not even watch one episode of the Sopranos?

Prop 302 is likely to fail. So the legislature is going to have a $400 million hole in its budget. Naturally, they will use the cover that Eddie and Nadine Basha have provided and cut as much as they can out of the budget.

But they will still need revenue...and they sure as heck aren't going to raise taxes. So they are out of borrowing capacity, and they can't have the First Things First money because their first proposal was shot down by the Tribes. So what's left?

Well, Indian Gaming is left. Of course they can't take the money from the tribes...but they can COMPETE with the tribes.

Something tells me that real-life mobsters will be insulted by the comparison...

Apparently, free speech protections only apply to people who agree with Pearce and the other small "n" nativists.  All others should just take the abuse, shut up, and like it.

So, in one brief passage, he details how Pearce (and his colleagues in the R caucus of the lege) is going after the Tohono O'odham because they've dared to oppose his move to defund and destroy early childhood education in Arizona in order to pay for corporate tax cuts.  And he compares his fellow Rs to mobsters.

Nice.